His Father's Son
by Dana1
Summary: CoWritten with Juliet 3:16 2000: One son's quest for answers leads to all sorts of revelations and problems. July 3 2007: This fic is extremely AU and was started 4 years ago so please keep that in mind while reading this fic.
1. Start of a Dream

Title: His Father's Son 

Authors: Dana Juliet3:162000

Rating: PG

Warnings: None except wrestling violence and mention of someone that's dead. And cussing.

Summary: One son's quest for answers leads to all sorts of revelations and problems.

Author's note: Thanks to Jules who is my CO-writer. She helped me take this story in a direction it was never going. Though, I did say it's her fault ;).

Disclaimer: Anyone you don't recognize in this fic is mine! Won't say who it would spoil the story. Everyone else belongs to themselves, WWF(E), or other promotions.

Start of a Dream

I laced up my boots. I'm in Ohio Valley Wrestling also known as OVW. And yes that's still running. They closed Heartland down a long time ago. I've been here for a few days and I hate the talk that I hear and all of the questions. I don't remember it! I was only four at the time!

Everyone expects me to be some great wrestler because my dad is. Or rather was. I want to make him proud but I don't think I'll ever be as good as he was. I hope to make him proud as he watches me from heaven.

People are jealous because they think I'll automatically go to WWE because the McMahon's feel guilty over what happened. And of course it doesn't help that one of my 'uncle's' runs the place. But really, they should blame Vince for pushing to sign that monster. My sister said that many people on the net were always saying he'd kill someone in the ring some day. Funny, he did. Who knows if he didn't if I would have followed in my dad's footsteps?

I was four years old when it happened so I don't remember it. Correction I didn't even see it. And I barely remember my own father. My mother is against me following in his footsteps but what can I do? I want to continue his legacy. And thank God, Bill Goldberg's no longer around.

"Dan Benoit! Get your ass out here" Chavo Guerrero yelled.

I gave up on my boots they'd have to do as is.


	2. Family Opinion

Family Opinion  
  
I was walking out of OVW when I saw Chad Thompson standing there. He'd been training there for about two years. "Hey rookie." He called to me. I stopped walking and waited. "I heard your mommy doesn't want you wrestling. What's the matter? She afraid you'll end up like your old man?"  
  
I was not going to respond. I've been hearing a lot of that garbage.   
  
"I can't hit you kid. Your uncle would throw me out real fast."  
  
"Leave me alone Chad." I said walking to my car.   
  
"What's the matter Danny boy? Got nothing to say?"  
  
I was always told to never let my temper get the best of me. And you know it's a hard thing to do when someone's talking about your father and family like that but I kept walking.   
  
He grabbed me by the arm. "I'm talking to you."  
  
"Hey leave Danny alone!" Someone called from a few feet away. I saw Cameron Hickenbottom who wrestles under the name Cameron Michaels. He was Michael Hickenbottom's, aka HeartBreak Kid, son. "He hasn't done anything to you."  
  
"Keeping us from getting into the WWE Cam."   
  
"I don't want to be in the WWE!" I said loudly.  
  
"Don't know why you wouldn't. You are pretty much guaranteed a contract there." Chad said.  
  
"Would you shut up!" Cameron said. "Do you have any brains? Why the hell would he want to work for the company that hired the man who killed his father."  
  
Chad just walked away.   
  
"Don't worry about Chad Danny. He's pretty much rude to everybody who's new here."   
  
When I got back to my apartment the phone was ringing off the hook. I answered it. "Hello?"  
  
'Danny this is Megan.'  
  
"Hi Megan." I said picking up the TV guide. Megan is not my favorite sister. She's only three years older then me and she acts like she knows everything. Also she has a snobby attitude. I should know. I've spent enough time up in Canada visiting her and her mother Melissa.  
  
'Tatem called me with the silliest little news the other day. She said that you are training to be a wrestler.'   
  
"I am. I want to follow in our dad's footsteps."  
  
'Yeah and look what that got him.'  
  
"How can you say that about dad?" I demanded. "Jeez Megan that was mean."  
  
'Sorry Danny just telling you the truth. You'd never catch me in the ring. Though I have a few friends that could get me in it if I wanted to. Why just the other day...'  
  
"Megan I really don't have the time to talk about your friends. Look I have to go." I've never been so happy to have call waiting. I mean I could switch lines and put her on hold but it's an excuse.  
  
'Well darn. Maybe another time. Bye Danny.' She said and hung up.   
  
I clicked the receiver. "Hello?"  
  
'Hey Danny it's Tatem.' I let out a sigh of relief. I like Tatem even if she's against me being a wrestler. I guess it's because I know her better then David and Megan.  
  
"Hi Tatem."  
  
'I just called to talk about this OVW thing. 'I really wish you wouldn't wrestle Danny. It's hurting mom.'  
  
I sigh. "Tatem are you in Megan teaming together? I just got off the phone with her and she said the same exact thing. I want to wrestle just as my dad did. Just like your dad did."   
  
'My dad retired. He wasn't killed in the ring.' She sighed. Her father is Dave Sullivan who wrestled under the name of Kevin Sullivan. I heard that he and my dad hated each other. 'I'm sorry Danny that came out wrong. But think about it. David and Trevor don't wrestle.' Tatem pointed out. 'I don't know why you want to.'   
  
I roll my eyes. David's my twenty eight-year-old half brother from a previous relationship of my father's and Trevor's my ten-year-old half brother from my mother and Jason's marriage. Well they adopted him anyway. "Trevor's ten years old!" I pointed out.  
  
'Okay you have a point. But Danny you weren't there that night! I still have nightmares of your father being dropped on his head. I went through counseling! I won't let Misha even turn RAW on.' Misha's my niece.   
  
"Tatem I've got to go. I need to go to the store before it closes. Talk to you later." I said. She said bye and we hung up. Why couldn't they let me be a wrestler? I know my dad died in the ring but I should be allowed to do what I want to do. Dang it I'm eighteen. The phone rang. With my luck, it's my mother. I let the machine get it. It was someone from A T & T Bell company. Well good. Didn't have a need to change phone companies. 


	3. First Match Jitters

Notes: To clear a few things up from previous chapters: Jason is Danny's stepfather. Oh and Eddy's very close to the Benoit family. Danny even calls him Uncle Eddy sometimes.  
  
First Match Jitters  
  
I couldn't believe it was my first match already. I'd been training for a couple months there and was about to wrestle in front of a crowd. I was nervous and had tried to see if some of my family came up. I replayed my conversation with my oldest sister as I waited backstage. "Come on Tatem. The shows not that far from there. I really want you guys there for my debut."  
  
'You are absolutely nuts Daniel Christopher Benoit if you think I'm going to go to a wrestling match! Jason called to say you were trying to convince him!'  
  
I sighed. "Tatem please think about it? Please?"  
  
'No.' she hung up.  
  
"Danny!" Someone called. I turned around to see my brother David.   
  
I gave him a hug. "Thanks for coming."  
  
"Thought you could use someone cheering for you in your debut and I knew Tatem and Nancy wouldn't be here."  
  
I was nervous about wrestling tonight but I was glad he was there. "David!" Eddy called. "Any chance of you training?"  
  
"And get Nancy mad at me? No chance." He said with a smile. "Just came here to root on my little brother."  
  
When I was a growing up, I spent a lot of my summers in Edmonton Alberta Canada visiting my grandmother, Megan, and David. I'm really close with David but not very close to Megan.   
  
"Good luck." Eddy said patting me on the back before wandering over to talk to another wrestler.  
  
I have a match with Chad tonight. I was going to job but that didn't bother me at all. It was something I wanted to do.   
  
"I'm going to go take my seat and watch your match. Good luck." David said before walking to his seat. I stretched and was informed that my match was next.   
  
The match went without problems. Chad, despite his crummy attitude, is a good wrestler. And I had fun. I hope my dad can see me in heaven and be proud.   
  
David came over to me and was grinning. "Good job Danny. I might not know much about wrestling but I thought you did good."  
  
"Thanks David." I said wiping my face with a towel.  
  
"Hey Danny!" A voice called. I turned around to see Cameron. "We are all going out to party after the show. Come with us. Oh and you can come too." He said to David.  
  
I looked at David who shrugged. "Okay." I said. I turned to David. "I'm going to shower and change. Meet me at the door okay?"   
  
***  
After the show, we were all hanging out at a restaurant downtown. Cam said that they were used to it by now. They had a room in the back ready for us. It was a loud party that was for sure. I was worried that David might feel uncomfortable with a group of wrestlers, but he was laughing with everyone. I looked over at our trainers Eddy, Chavo, and D-Lo. They were partying like the rest of us though Eddy kept looking at his watch. He may be my 'uncle' but there have been rumors going around that he's heavily into drugs. So he might have to meet a drug dealer or something.  
  
"So what's the deal with Chad?" I asked Cam looking over at Chad who was on his third beer.   
  
"He isn't too happy with us second, third, and fourth generation wrestlers. He thinks we'll be able to get into WWE without a problem. Especially since people like, Randy and me have been here since we were sixteen. Don't pay him any attention. He'd about do anything to be in WWE."  
  
"Not me. I'd rather work for WCW." I said.   
  
"Me too actually but my parents would prefer I work for WWE." Cam said.   
  
"At least your parents are supportive." I muttered.  
  
"Hey! Come on Danny you know why your mother isn't. Give her time. She'll eventually understand. She used to be in wrestling." David said. He must have overheard our conversation.   
  
"Yeah you are right." I said realizing that was a stupid thing I said before. I just wish I had some support.  
  
Man I miss my dad. 


	4. Not the Only One

Notes: This chapter introduces a new character that plays a major role in the fic. It's definitely her story too and guess what? We don't get to claim her ;). And we'll get to the quest soonly.  
  
Not the Only One  
  
I stood in the back watching the matches. I don't like my gimmick too much. I look like that 90s wrestler Mikey Whipwreck. I wonder what possessed them to give me that look.   
  
I have a tag match with Randy Orton the III against Kurt Angle, who's actually Eric Angle's son, and Cameron. I have to try not to strangle Simone, the valet. She and I don't really get along.  
  
Someone bumped into me. I turned to see a woman with very red hair standing there. "Sorry!" She said. I looked at her closely and saw that she wasn't really a redhead. But I knew who she was. Her name's Sierra. She'd been training here for a year or so I heard.   
  
"It's okay." I said smiling.  
  
"Danny!" Simone called. I turned around she was standing there looking impatient. She glared at Sierra. "We've got a match to get ready for."  
  
"Uh right." I smiled at Sierra before hurrying over to where Randy and Simone were standing.   
  
We were going over match strategy when Chavo walked over and clapped me on the back. "You'll never guess who's here."   
  
"Who?" I asked.  
  
"Tatem." He said with a large smile.  
  
"Tatem? My sister Tatem? The one who said she'd never go to a wrestling show again? That Tatem?"  
  
He laughed. "You know of another? I gave her a backstage pass. She'll be back here after your match she said. Oh yeah and she said if anything happened to you she'd kill me."  
  
"Now that sounds like Tatem." I said with a smile. I was so surprised that she was there. "She bring Misha?"  
  
"Yep. They are here with her husband shoot I forgot his name."  
  
"Ted. Cool. Glad they could make it." I said. I looked over at Simone who was trying to get my attention. "I guess it's match time."  
  
"Good luck!" Chavo called as I walked over to Simone and Randy.  
  
I walked out to ringside and scanned the area for my sister and her family. They were sitting in the middle. I understood that choice. My sister wouldn't have sat in the front row even if she were the only one there. She had a front row seat in witnessing her stepfather, my father's, death. I waved to them and I heard Misha yell "Hi Uncle Danny."  
  
I grinned and turned back to the match at hand. I jumped into the ring and listened to the ring announcements.  
  
"First accompanied by Simone weighing 205 pounds from Atlanta Georgia, Danny Benoit!" There were a few cheers. I'm still trying to establish a name in OVW. "His tag partner weighs 220 pounds and is from New Orleans Louisiana, Randy Orton."  
  
"Their opponents are accompanied by Sierra. They are the OVW tag team champions! First weighing in at 210 pounds from San Antonio Texas, Cameron Michaels. His tag partner weighs 240 pounds from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Kurt Angle."  
  
The match went fine without a hitch. We lost but that was okay. I loved wrestling. Maybe it was in the blood. My mother enjoyed being in wrestling before my dad died.   
  
I had to chuckle when I saw Sierra put Simone in the sharpshooter. It wasn't a part of the show and I know Uncle Eddy is going to yell at her for it. I tried to pretend not to notice. Simone deserved it.  
  
When she got to the back she turned towards me and glared. "Why didn't you get that bitch off me?"  
  
"Oh did she do something?"  
  
She stomped off yelling for Eddy.  
  
I turned around to see Sierra standing there. "Thanks." She said.  
  
"No problem. She had it coming."  
  
"I'm Sierra. Sorry I wasn't really paying attention to the introductions and missed your name." She said.  
  
"Danny." I said yanking off the stupid bandana I had been wearing on my head. She was staring at me rather oddly. "What?"  
  
"You look like that picture over there." She said pointing behind me.   
  
I turned around and let out a sigh. "That was my dad." I whispered.  
  
"Was? Sorry I don't mean to pry." She said quickly looking away.  
  
"That's okay. Chris Benoit was my father. He um died in the ring."  
  
Her brow furrowed. She looked around as if seeing if anyone was looking in her direction. "So did mine." She said in a quiet voice.  
  
"Uncle Danny!" A voice yelled I turned around to see my five-year-old niece running in my direction.  
  
I picked her up. I turned around to say something to Sierra but she was gone.  
  
******  
Next chapter may be going to her POV. This fic will have a lot of chapters where it's Sierra's POV. Like I said what happens in this fic involves her big time. 


	5. You’d Understand

Notes: Small chapter but it really introduces some backstory of Sierra without really giving it away.

You'd Understand

I walked away letting Danny be with his niece. His father was Chris Benoit. I know I've heard that name before. I think I've heard my uncles say his name before. His niece looked to be about my nephew's age. 

I watched Eddy Guerrero walk over and hug the woman. They talked a few minutes before Eddy walked my way. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say. He was going to reprimand me for putting the Sharpshooter on Simone. Even he had to know she had it coming.

"Sierra I need to talk to you in my office." He said and walked away. I followed him. I might as well get it over with. "Have a seat." He said as soon as we were in his office. I sat down. "It's about the match tonight. I don't care how much someone deserves it you have to stick to the script. There was no call for you to put the Sharpshooter on her. Though I might add it was quite a good one."

"I'm sorry Eddy. She gets on my nerves sometimes."

"She gets on everyone's nerves." He said. 

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Can you tell me about Danny Benoit? I saw you hug his sister or sister in law I'm not sure which she was."

"That was his sister Tatem and her daughter Misha. Danny's been training here about a month or so. He's picking up the moves fast but we all know he won't be as good as his father. It's not saying he's not going to be a good wrestler it's just his father was one of the best in the business before he died." Eddy had a far away look in his eye for a second.

"How did he die?" I asked. "Danny said he died in the ring."

"He did." And that was all he said. "Danny's mother's like your mother. Doesn't want him anywhere near the ring. She wouldn't let him go to wrestling shows or watch it on TV. Not even WCW. But I saw him a lot while he was growing up. Nancy said she couldn't keep us from seeing her children. Chris was like a brother to me."

"My mother wanted nothing to do with the sport at all. She'd kill me if she knew I was training here instead of going to school at Stanford. But his mother knows right?"

"Yeah she knows. As you can tell a lot of second, third, and fourth generation wrestles have been here since they were fifteen or sixteen. Their parents used their pull to get them in here. Danny came here as soon as he graduated high school. Have to admire his guts for going against his mother's wishes. And Tatem's for that matter. Neither Nancy nor Tatem wanted him to be a wrestler." He stopped talking. "He'd kill me if he knew I was telling you all of this but I think you understand what he's going through better then anyone."

"Thanks Eddy." I said getting up. "Promise you won't tell anyone who I am?"

"Already said I wouldn't." 


	6. Snide Remarks

Notes: Back to Danny's POV. Don't worry we'll get back to Sierra.   
  
Snide Remark  
  
I was stretching on the mat before the lesson started. I was trying to stay as far away from Simone as I could. She has been shooting daggers at me ever since I came in today.   
  
"Trying to follow in your dad's footsteps?" Someone asked. I looked up and saw Dave Sullivan Tatem and Levi's father. Levi's my twenty-six year old half brother. I've known Dave most of my life. I'd stay with him when I went with Tatem to visit Levi. And I've heard the history between him and dad but he and mom have mended those fences. Mom said they did it for Levi and Tatem.  
  
"Hi Dave." I said before going back to stretching. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Tatem said she was going to be up here so I came to visit her and my granddaughter. I dropped by to see how the school was going. Tatem didn't tell me you were training here though." I shrug. It really didn't surprise me. "It's a good school." He looked at Eddy with what I can only guess nervousness. I'd heard that he and a lot of people in the business didn't get along.  
  
That week's trainer was a wrestler named David Cash who wrestled under the name Kid Kash who came to the WWE in 2006. He had wrestled in WCW before it closed in 2001 and had worked for WCW and ECW. He was also Ricky Morton's cousin who booked for WCW.   
  
The agreement with both WCW and WWF is that OVW would be a developmental territory for both companies, but that both had to provide one guest trainer, alternating from week to week to come and talk and on occasion teach the students. Last week we had Amy Hardy and Venom from WCW. Venom's only wrestled a couple years and was an OVW graduate. Amy's married to a former wrestler named Matt Hardy but I don't know too much about her. Venom was guest trainer and Amy said she was just scouting.  
  
"Hey Dave." Chavo said coming up to us. He didn't look too happy about seeing him though. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Just came to see Danny train. Tatem told me that he was training here. So how's Eddy doing running this company?" He asked.  
  
"He's doing fine. He's in his office if you want to talk to him." He said pointing to Uncle Eddy's office.   
  
"Guess it's true. Those who can do and those who can't, teach." Dave said walking away.  
  
"What a..." Chavo trailed off. "Sorry I know he's Tatem's father but I can't stand the guy."  
  
I just nodded. He did make snide remarks to people he didn't like I'd noticed. But he was a nice guy if you were on his good side I guess. He went back to helping D-Lo with the people in the ring. I saw Sierra and Cam talking near the ring. While waiting for time in the ring. I wonder what's the story with Sierra. I'd have to ask Cam. Maybe he knew what she meant about her father dying in the ring too. 


	7. Just Who is She?

Notes: This is still Danny's POV.   
  
Just Who is She?  
  
I waited until after the show to talk to Cam. I stopped him before he went to Angelo's.   
  
"Hey Cam can I talk to you?" I asked.  
  
"Sure Danny." We sat down in a couple of the folding chairs backstage.  
  
"You friends with Sierra?"  
  
"Yeah. She's a great person. Why? You thinking of asking her out?"  
  
"No." I chuckled. "Just wondering on something she told me the other day. She said her dad died in the ring?"  
  
"Yeah. My dad talks about it a lot but I can't tell you who she is. I promised her I wouldn't reveal her identity."  
  
"So he did." I bit the bottom of my lip. "How old was she?"  
  
"Oh about three I think. Guess you both have that in common. You both lost your father's at a very early age."  
  
"And both our mother's don't want us to be in the sport." A voice said from behind us. I turned around to see Sierra standing there. "It's okay Cam I'm going to tell to him."   
  
"You sure Sierra?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah I really do think so. I think he understands what I went through better then anyone." Cam got up and left. "I heard what happened to your father. It's like what happened to my father. A really bad stunt that went wrong. My mother distanced herself completely from wrestling. Only wrestlers that ever came by were my uncles."  
  
"My mother said she couldn't keep my dad's friends from visiting us even after she remarried. Eddy came by a lot. My mother's first husband used to be a wrestler too. She was in wrestling for years until she divorced him. That's how she met my dad." I trailed off there. No one really talked about that time in WCW around me. "My mother never told me what happened in Atlanta completely. She said she didn't want to think about it. It was too painful."  
  
"My mother and uncles talked about it a lot. Couldn't watch wrestling. My mother would about kill me if she knew I was training. But I want to do what my dad did."  
  
"Who was your dad?" I asked. I wasn't sure if she was going to tell me. She looked around quick.   
  
"Owen Hart." She said so quietly that I almost didn't hear her.  
  
***  
Notes: *EG* Told you we didn't own her. 


	8. Starting the Journey

Notes: This is divided between Danny and Athena's POV. It will be marked when it changes.   
  
Starting the Journey  
  
Athena's POV  
  
Maybe it was chancing it to tell Danny who I was. But like Eddy said, he knew what I was going through. The news seemed to have stunned him because he's not saying anything. Well it had shocked Cameron too when I told him. And Eddy for that matter.   
  
"You're Owen Hart's daughter?" He asked.  
  
"Yes. My name's really Athena. I made up a name and dyed my hair to keep people from finding out who I was. And it's been successful as long as I've been here. Like I said my mother would have a fit if she knew not to mention my whole family. You can't tell anyone. Only you, Cam, and Eddy know."  
  
"Don't worry I won't tell anyone. I understand not wanting people to know. When I was in school people were always talking about it. They asked if I was there. If I ever saw my dad wrestle. Etceteras. I just wished they would shut up sometimes."  
  
"I know how that was. Oje and I went through it too. It continued when I went to college. I was tempted to register under my middle name."   
  
"I thought of doing the same when I entered wrestling. But I do want people to know that he's my father, no offense to you." He blushed.  
  
"None taken." I smiled to lessen the tension. I was used to this but Danny at least cared if I would be offended. Growing up I can't say the same thing about people at my school. He seemed like a nice guy not that I was interested in him that way.  
  
"I've heard stories about your dad and uncles from my 'uncles.'"  
  
I wasn't really sure what to say to that. My Uncle Bret had mentioned the name Chris Benoit a couple of times. I think if memory is correct the last time he did was about his funeral. So I asked instead, "Chad still giving you a hard time?" It was well known that Chad didn't like Danny and vice versa. Chad didn't exactly have a lot of friends at OVW. The trainers didn't like him. He had a bad attitude.  
  
"Yeah but nothing I can't handle."  
  
"Good. I'm going to Angelo's. You going?" I asked.  
  
"No I'm going home and catch some z's. Bye." He said.  
  
I said goodbye and watched him leave. I went to my car.  
  
***  
Danny's POV  
  
When I got back to the apartment I turned the TV on so I could watch the news. The All-New Unsolved Mysteries was on. Wil Wheaton hosts it. I didn't really watch it often but I usually caught the end of it. The story caused me to sit down. There was a picture of my dad on the screen with several other pictures I didn't quite recognize.  
  
"Was it truly accidents that killed Chris Benoit, Steve Austin and Owen Hart? We may not know. Too many accidents in the ring such as what happened to Matt Hardy. And the disappearance of the owner's son and daughter in law. Is the World Wrestling Entertainment company cursed or is it just a bunch of coincidences? Maybe we'll never know. Until next time this is Wil Wheaton and thank you for watching Unsolved Mysteries."  
  
What the hell? I thought after seeing that. Something was going on. I knew one thing though.  
  
I needed to know what happened to my dad. And I know just the person to talk to.  
  
***  
Notes: Don't worry if we lost you. it'll all be explained much later. 


	9. Eddy’s Story

Eddy's Story  
  
Danny's POV  
  
I walked into OVW Monday and people were looking at me. I mean more then usual. "We saw Unsolved Mysteries." Venicia Gonzales said. Venicia was a tall Hispanic woman who had been training here a year and a half.   
  
Well that explains it. "I didn't really see it. caught like the last minute or so." I said which was the truth.   
  
"It's no big deal Ven. They show it every couple of months. It's always the same thing. They haven't had anything new since well Hardy." Joseph Adams said. "Catch it in a couple months and you'll see it. it's just a story about the curse of the WWE."  
  
"Yeah so I saw. Eddy here?" I asked changing the subject.  
  
"His office I think." Venicia said. I thanked her and walked to Eddy's office.  
  
I knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in." I walked in. "Have a seat. I sat down. "What can I do for you?"  
  
I've seen enough videos of wrestling to see that Uncle Eddy has really changed and from the rumors that are going around OVW, he went heavily back into drugs and alcohol when my dad died. He looks a lot older then someone that in their early 50s.  
  
"I saw the end of Unsolved Mysteries last night."  
  
"They showed that again? Wish they would stop. Pay it no attention. They are just saying shit again."  
  
"But I want to know what happened on May 23 2004."  
  
He sighed. "I suppose your mother doesn't know you are asking me does she?" I shook my head. "Kid you should let things be. What happened...well no one was the same after that."  
  
"It was the fifth anniversary of Owen Hart's death wasn't it?" I remember people saying that before but I never really thought about it until now.   
  
He looked at me as if he was surprised that I knew that. "Yes it was. Vince decided to do a PPV on a Saturday instead of a Sunday to see if the buy rates would go back up. WWE was losing a lot of money. I think that's why he decided to try to get WCW back up and running the next year. Chris wasn't crazy about wrestling Goldberg. Bill had improved but one doesn't forget the damage he did to wrestlers. I was watching the match from the back with Chavo and a couple other wrestlers. When Goldberg lifted him to do a power bomb, Chavo commented that something looked off. But we didn't know how off until we heard the sickening thud when Chris hit the mat. His neck looked to be at a strange angle. I ran to ringside to check on him. Didn't care I was breaking kayfabe. I remember them trying to revive Chris. Nancy had jumped over the guardrail with Tatem. Security tried to hold them back but she told that that she was Chris' wife. The medics took Nancy aside and I heard her start screaming and that was when I knew Chris was dead. So many wrestlers left the WWE. A lot went to Japan. Some went to WWA and some went to NWA TNA. None returned to WWE. Some work in some way with WCW like Stevie Richards does as a commentator along with Jeff Katz who was rehired when WCW started up. But no one wanted anything to do with WWE. Not even Shane."  
  
"What happened to Steve Austin?"   
  
"Terrible accident in the ring. Maybe I'll tell you some other time."  
  
"Why did Shane leave?"  
  
"Kid that's not for me to tell you. It has nothing really to do with your father. If you can find Shane ask him." And he left it at that.  
  
I sighed that conversation with Uncle Eddy was informative. The key to all of this was finding Shane McMahon who had left wrestling only two years after getting WCW off the ground. He was finally running a company. Something must have happened for him to leave the sport without warning. Did it have to do with WCW? I would have to do some research to find out. Wrestler turned investigator.  
  
Maybe I should talk to Tatem some more. There must have been more to cause so many wrestlers to leave. Though I guess seeing your fellow wrestler break his neck and die in the ring will do it. It had been the fifth anniversary of Owen's death. That must have had something to do with it. 


	10. Don’t Wanna Talk About It

Still Danny's POV. We probably won't go back to Athena's until at the earliest chapter 15. Title is from a Wolfpack song actually. Love that song. Wish the radio would play it more.  
  
Don't Wanna Talk About It   
  
I asked Uncle Eddy if I could take a few weeks off. I had to sort some things out. He said he understood. I headed down to Atlanta. Tatem worked part time as a secretary at some big company. I forget the name of it. I rang the doorbell. "Misha let me answer it!" I could hear Tatem yelling. My sister opened the door. "Danny what are you doing here?"  
  
"Just came by to visit." She opened the door for me. I hugged Misha. "Tatem do you think we could talk privately?"  
  
"Sure. Misha it's time for your nap anyway." She said to my niece.   
  
"You gonna be here when I wake up Uncle Danny?" She asked.  
  
"Sure." I said. She grinned and hurried to her room. She's a good kid.  
  
We went into the living room. "You want something to drink?"  
  
"Water would be fine." When she was sitting down I started speaking again. "I saw Unsolved Mysteries today. The new one not reruns of the old one. They had a story on the curse of the WWE. I only caught the tail end of it."  
  
"Oh?" She looked uncomfortable. She probably knew where this was going.  
  
"And I talked to Eddy about it and he said you and mom jumped over the guardrail."  
  
"We did."  
  
"What did security tell you?"  
  
"Danny I love you but I don't want to talk about it! It took me years to get past the nightmares."  
  
"Please Tatem? I have to know what happened to my dad."  
  
She had tears in her eyes. "Ask someone else because I'm not telling you." She got up off the couch and went and looked out the window. I knew she didn't want me to see her crying.  
  
I did feel bad about coming to Tatem and asking. But I knew I couldn't ask mom. I've asked things on a smaller level and she always changes the subject. And she gets the same look on her face that's on Tatem's. I know I shouldn't press the issue.  
  
There's someone else I can ask. I'm pretty sure he would have been at the show. And I know he and dad had been close from what people have told me. He might be able to answer my questions. At least I hope he can.  
  
"Can I use the phone?" I asked Tatem.  
  
"Sure Danny. You know where it is."  
  
I went over to the phone and quickly made the phone call. "Hi Beth? Is Ric there?" 


	11. Memorial Show

Memorial Show  
  
I drove my car up the driveway of the Flair mansion. As I walked up to the door I thought of how things had gone the past few days. My conversation with Uncle Eddy had been helpful. But the one with Tatem hadn't gone well. Now I was about to see someone who my mother said my dad looked up to as a mentor and a second father. I was going to talk to Ric Flair.  
  
Ric's in his late sixties now. When most of the roster left the WWE, Ric completely left the sport. I had met Ric many times growing up. Elizabeth, Beth, opened the door for me. "Hello Danny." She greeted. She stared at me for a few seconds before smiling. "You are the spitting image of your father. Come in. Ric's watching a movie with Shawna and Corey." Shawna and Corey are Ric's grandchildren.  
  
I walked into the room. Ric was barely paying attention to Mighty Ducks 4. "Kids why don't you go watch that in another room. I need to talk to Danny." They both leave the room. "Have a seat Danny." I do so. "Would you like something to drink?" I shook my head. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"I started training for wrestling a couple weeks ago. I want to follow in my father's footsteps." A pained expression appeared on Ric's face. I guess coming here was a good idea after all. Maybe he did have information. "My mother and sisters are against it."  
  
"Understandable. Nancy and Tatem were in the front row that night. But then again, I guess no one was the same after that show. A few wrestlers completely left wrestling after that night."  
  
"Why? I mean aside from the obvious. I read some really old stuff about after Owen's death no one left. No one even left WWE."  
  
"Yes well I think it had to do with it being the fifth anniversary of Owen's death. Many wrestlers don't think that Goldberg breaking your father's neck was an accident. And then when Shane McMahon disappeared....well I think it just confirmed suspicions." Ric got up from his seat and walked up to his quite large video collection. "You might want to watch this. It's a video of the Chris Benoit Memorial Show. It might answer your questions better then I can. I think a lot of people were relieved that WWE didn't show clips of that match again."  
  
"Thanks Ric. Do you know where Shane McMahon went?"  
  
"No. I don't think anyone knows. He and his wife Marissa pretty much disappeared. There's speculation that Shane found something and it was big enough to make him want to get as far away from the sport as possible. No one's heard or seen him in years."  
  
"Eddy Guerrero said something about it having nothing to do with my father."  
  
Ric sat back in his chair and didn't say anything right away. "I don't know why he said that. Maybe he knows about this better then I do. But who knows? Eddy hasn't been the same since Chris died. Most people weren't. WWE nearly folded when the majority of the roster left. Vince had told everyone they could leave if they wanted. There was going to be a boycott of Smackdown. No one wanted to miss the Chris Benoit Tribute. I think it effected people differently because it was during a match and not as a stunt. It was Goldberg too. He had been known for really hurting other wrestlers. Goldberg served jail time for involuntary manslaughter. You have any other questions?" I shook my head. "You take care of yourself Danny. And good luck with the training." I shook his hand and showed myself out. That was informative.  
  
I watched the video that night. The first image on the screen was a picture of my dad. It looked like this below the picture:  
  
In Fond Memory  
Chris Benoit  
May 21 1967-May 23 2004  
  
Then like the Owen tribute RAW, all of the wrestlers, commentators, McMahon's, referees, and backstage personnel were gathered ringside. My father got a ten-bell salute and they rolled a video tribute that had a picture of dad, mom, Tatem, and I the last time dad was home. The footage included stuff from Japan, Mexico, Stampede, ECW, WCW, and WWE. They played One Sweet Day by Boyz 2 Men and Mariah Carey through it. It was a really touching video. I cried through it. My dad had been world champion when he died so Vince even retired one of the titles. Dean Malenko even came out of retirement to team with Eddy Guerrero against Lance Storm and William Regal as the main event. Ric Flair also came out of retirement to wrestle Shane Douglas who was there for one night. There were other matches too. The interviews were good. Eddy, Dean, Ric, and Shane didn't make it through the whole interview without crying. It was the last show most of them would do for WWF. 


	12. Talk with the Former Boss

Talk with the Former Boss  
  
After receiving the tape from Ric I decided to go to Stamford Connecticut. I knew my mother would kill me if she knew what I was about to do. Mom always blamed Goldberg and Vince McMahon for what happened to dad. Maybe she's right. I'm about to find out if she is.  
  
I walked up to the receptionist. "My name's Daniel Benoit and I have an appointment with Vince McMahon."  
  
She looked at her computer. "Yes. Have a seat. He's almost finished with a meeting." She said indicating the chairs behind me.  
  
I sat down and looked around at Titan Towers. It had all the latest computer equipment I noticed. On the way to this office I had seen a whole wall full of pictures with a sign below it saying in memory of. I luckily didn't have to wait long. Vince McMahon came out of his office to greet me. "Daniel Benoit?" He asked me.   
  
"Yes."  
  
"You look just like your father. Come on into my office." I followed him into his office and took a seat across from him. The office didn't look that much different then the area outside of it. Stacks of papers on his desk, a coffee mug, computers, and other things. There were a few picture frames on his desk. I guess it didn't really look all that different from Uncle Eddy's office. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"Was hoping you could answer some questions about my father's death."   
  
"I'll try." He said sipping at his coffee.  
  
"What happened that night in Atlanta?"  
  
"You sure are direct. Goldberg was going to win the title from your father using the powerbomb. I guess Goldberg didn't have it locked right and broke your father's neck. Such a shame that your mother and Tatem were at ringside that night. Did you happen to see it?"  
  
"No. They left me home with a baby sitter."   
  
He nodded. "Such a tragedy." He said shaking his head. "Any other questions?"  
  
"Why did Shane leave?"  
  
Vince brow furrowed. He didn't say anything right away. "I don't know. He didn't tell anyone he was leaving he just up and left along with Marissa. Have no idea where they could have gone."  
  
The door started to open. "Vince I have the..." A gray hared man said entering the room. He stopped talking when he had seen me.   
  
"Eric this is Daniel Benoit. Daniel this is Eric Bischoff my assistant."  
  
"Chris' little boy?" He asked me. I nodded. I knew whom Eric Bischoff from all the stuff I've heard growing up. My mother didn't like him any more then she liked Vince. He seemed nervous for some reason. "I'll come back in later and discuss it." He said looking at me again before leaving the office.   
  
"As I was saying Shane and Marissa left. Dustin Runnels is in charge of WCW as far as I know. Any other questions?"  
  
"I saw a tape of the RAW memorial. You weren't there?" I asked. It was out of curiosity. I had noticed it in the tape.  
  
"No I was taking care of some legal things. It was done just fine. I'm sure your father would have liked it." He glanced at the clock. "I'm sorry but I need to take care of some paperwork. Hope I answered all of your questions."  
  
I got up and left his office.  
  
***  
Notes: Without giving away some stuff the next two chapters are going to be um interesting. 


	13. A Shock

Notes: Three new chapters. I don't know whether to say you are lucky or run away.  
  
A Shock  
  
I had no idea where I was going now. I had spent some time at the library and did some research. I explained I wasn't around here and the librarian let me use one of the computers. I had brought a disk with me to save all the newspaper articles I found on the computer. there were a few but nothing that really answered my questions.   
  
My mind went back to the conversation with Vince McMahon earlier today. Part of me knows he was lying. What was he lying about though? and then there was Bischoff. He was just odd.  
  
I really have no idea where I'm going next. Maybe to Florida to see Uncle Dean. Or maybe back to Kentucky. I really feel like I haven't found anything. I walked into the Super 8 Motel. I started to walk to my room. "Mr. Benoit?" A voice called from the front desk causing me to turn around. "Someone delivered a package for you earlier today."   
  
"Thanks." I said taking it from him. I could see by the size and shape of it that it was videotape. Luckily the motel had old VCR's so I borrowed one and went up to my motel room. I opened the package and a note fell out. I read it quickly. It said:  
This is what no one wanted to tell you.   
  
I put it into the VCR. It was a copy of the match between Goldberg and my father. I sat on the edge of the bed. I've never seen this match. It was from one place so either it was a handheld or just one camera, which was strange because it was a PPV. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the powerbomb. Eddy was right. His neck was at a weird angle.  
  
The camera zoomed in. I sat closer as I saw something a bit odd. The medic was talking to my father and I swear I heard him say act dead. Eddy was right next to them so he obviously heard that. But Eddy said that he knew my father was dead when he heard my mother scream. And now the medic was whispering something to Eddy who nodded and then left the ring. That was before my mother got through security. Eddy was gone by the time she screamed. The tape shut off.  
  
Damn it! I silently cursed. I rewound and watched it over and over again. I wasn't wrong.   
  
Eddy lied about it all. I lay on the bed sobbing. I wasn't sure what I had just seen. But I did know one thing. My dad. He was alive. And Eddy may have kept him away from me all these years.  
  
Now what? 


	14. So Where is He?

Notes: Jules wrote the whole chapter. With some adding and subtracting by me. This was written way   
before the first chapter had been posted. This is when she became my co-writer.  
  
So Where is He?  
  
I headed straight for Eddy's office as soon as I got to OVW. I left Stamford the morning after I got the   
tape. I had seen the tape half a dozen times more I saw what I had seen over and over again.  
  
I wanted to confront Uncle Eddy, wanted answers, but I felt a private confrontation was a better solution   
then announcing what I knew to everybody on the planet. If what I saw on the tape was true, then   
somebody had to have had a good reason for what happened in that ring, and preferably did not want that to   
be found. Also, even though I was pretty certain about what I'd seen and heard, there was always the   
possibility that maybe I'd heard wrong and also that Eddy's memory was not as reliable as it had once been.   
If the rumors were true then 14 years of what he was doing to his body had to take a toll mentally and   
physically.  
  
As I stepped into the office, I saw Chavo sitting opposite of where Eddy would normally sit at his desk.   
  
"Where's Eddy." I ground out, having decided that even though I was against a public outing of Uncle   
Eddy's deceit, I was in no mood to be polite.  
  
Chavo looked at me strangely. "Look I don't know. What's eating you?" he challenged, standing up as   
he said it.  
  
I got right into his face as I'd seen my father do countless times in wrestling videos, and growled in as   
lowest a voice I could muster "where the Hell is Eddy!"  
  
My trainer got a look in his eyes that I'd never seen before, a look that was suspiciously like fear.   
"Look man, Eddy left a note saying he'd be back later. I have no clue were he is. Most likely at a drug   
dealer's house or something."   
  
"Dammit!" I turned away from my trainer and paced around a little. I didn't know it but in Chavo's   
eyes I was turning more and more into my father with each passing second.  
  
"What's that?" Chavo said seeing the videotape in my hands for the first time.  
  
"Like you don't know," I muttered.   
  
"No, I don't know!" Chavo said hearing me; "Maybe you'd like to tell me?"  
  
I sighed. I wondered if Chavo knew about his Uncle's deception or was as duped as I'd been. I decided   
to give it a shot and find out.   
  
"Has Eddy told you that I've been asking around about my father's death?" I asked. "Has he every told   
you what happened after he went to check on my Dad that night, or did you see it?"  
  
"No, but I kinda figured that was what the topic was about when you went came in here the other day.   
Those of us who were around in those days figured you'd eventually have some questions about that night.   
As for what happened that night, the monitors in the back were turned off right after your dad crashed onto   
the mat, so none of us except for Eddy and the medics know what happened after Goldberg powerbombed   
Chris. Far as I know no footage of that night was ever found. Eddy told me that he'd gone out there and   
heard the medic tell Nancy your dad had died. Uncle Eddy was never the same after that."  
  
"I wouldn't be too sure about there not being footage of that match," I said.  
  
Chavo looked at me stunned, then stared at the video I had in my hand. "What do you mean?" he   
asked.  
  
I didn't say anything just went to the antiquated VCR that was in Uncle Eddy's office and pushed the   
cassette tape in. As the footage unrolled before him, I could see Chavo's expression and dark eyes go from   
surprise to shock, to equal parts suspicion and anger.   
  
"Where did you get this?" Chavo asked as the tape finished. I'd finally decided that Chavo didn't know   
any of what Eddy had been party too all these years.  
  
"A package showed up in my motel room, with this note." I answered handing my trainer the note.   
Chavo scanned it in concentration.  
  
"It's typed so I doubt we'll figure out who sent it." Chavo said sighing. "We need to figure out how to   
confront Eddy and see if the tape's real or not."  
  
"How could it not be real!" I exclaimed shooting up to my feet. "What I saw - "  
  
"What you saw, may or may not be what's really what occurred that night," Chavo started to explain   
sighing again. He seemed to age a good 10 to 15 years in the 10 to 15 minutes we'd been in Uncle Eddy's   
office. "Look, tape manipulation had gotten practically seamless to where you couldn't tell what was real   
and what was fake even before your Dad died." Chavo shuddered suddenly, as if he suddenly understood   
the consequences of what was on that tape could mean if it was real. As if he didn't want to believe what   
was on that tape.   
  
I couldn't condemn him for that. After my initial blaze of anger had worn off, I wasn't entirely sure if I   
wanted to believe what was on the tape or not. A part of me wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe my   
Dad was alive somewhere and I could actually see him and talk to him again. Another part of me dreaded   
what it could mean if he was.  
  
"Look, all I'm saying is that the tape could be real or it could be some sicko somewhere who taped the   
show that night, found out you were following in your dad's footsteps and wanted to throw you. There are   
fans like that," Chavo said. I'd heard rumors about a some sort of bet that had been circulating online years   
ago that dared fans to try and strip Stephanie McMahon (This had been when she'd still been playing her   
slut character both in RL and on the show) of her clothing on television and that a fan had actually tried to   
do that among other things I'd heard fans try to do over the years, so I did at least grasp what Chavo was   
trying to impart to me. But still...  
  
"If that's the case then why did somebody send me a VHS, why not a DVD?"  
  
"Maybe to make it look more believable that it's the actual tape? Look I think the only thing that will   
help us determine for certain that the tape's real or not is to confront Uncle Eddy. I take it you didn't want   
to do that privately and that's why to stalked into his office earlier?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean, if it's not real, why turn it into a witch hunt on Eddy? And if it's real..." I let my voice   
trail off not willing to say anymore.  
  
Chavo nodded, understanding what I wasn't saying. "Look, let's meet up tomorrow and go to Eddy's   
house together. If he's not there then there are a few places I know where he might be we can check out.   
Let's look at the tape again. See if we can figure out a few clues."   
  
I nodded cueing the tape up again and hitting the play button. 


	15. One Big Surprise

One Big Surprise  
  
he next morning.  
  
Chavo and me met up the next morning as planned but with two additional people.   
  
One of them was D'Lo Brown, whose car we were enlisting for the ride over to Uncle Eddy's. D'Lo would be forever remembered as the person ended Darren "Droz" Drozdov's career for a botched powerbomb himself so I guess he could sympathize with Goldberg a little on that score. From what I've heard he gets a bum rap for that since it'd simply an accident brought about by bad timing.   
  
I know also know he feels indebted to Shane McMahon for getting him rehired a few months after he'd been fired in 2003, taking the fall for a poorly planned racism storyline that was about as well received as the storyline leading into my Uncle Booker T's match against Stephanie McMahon - Helmsley's current husband, Hunter for the what was then the RAW brand title at WrestleMania, in which Booker T won clean. D'Lo's now a trainer at OVW as well as the Developmental organization's top announcer. I don't know if Chavo told D'Lo everything, but I think that if D'Lo thought it would lead to some answers about why Shane disappeared, he'd have helped us do anything we'd asked.  
  
I think D'Lo also figured, knowing the passionate way the Gurrerros fight, that there might be a need for a cool headed mediator during our confrontation with Eddy.  
  
The other person with us was Athena.   
  
Athena had walked in on me and Chavo reviewing the video tape yesterday. She looked like she'd seen a ghost seeing the slightly blurred picture that was in front of her, which was a result of the pausing I'd done when the door had opened on me and Chavo. She left for a few minutes then came back with an old newspaper clipping. It's showed her father on a stretcher, his face partially obscured by medical personnel. We could see the late Jerry "The King" Lawler at ringside looking over at things.  
But that's not what surprised Chavo and me.  
  
What got us was that the one of the medics in the black and white picture looked like the medic in the video telling my dad to play dead. Giving Uncle Eddy some sort of message. The same medic telling my mother that my dad was dead. I wondered for the first time if maybe Eddy had been lying. If maybe Owen Hart's death and my dad's really were linked together in some way.  
  
So Athena joined us on our mission, having a few questions for Eddy Guerrerro of her own to ask now that she'd seen the tape.  
  
I found out earlier about something that I hadn't known by Chavo. Her uncle, Bret, who was once known as the Hitman, ironically had his own career cut short by Goldberg. It'd been one of the reasons my Dad hadn't wanted to fight him that night fourteen years ago.   
  
We'd gotten to Eddy's house in the pre - dawn morning figuring it might be best to get to him before he even before he came to OVW, if indeed he did. He'd been acting weird lately according to some. Chavo and D'Lo had noted to me and Athena that the last time Uncle Eddy had been so fidgety had been at my 'uncle' Mick Foley's funeral a year ago. Unlike most wrestlers, Mick had passed away peacefully in his sleep from natural causes. While most proclaimed that wrestlers preferred to die with their boots on most of my Dad and Mick's friends said that the way Mick had died had been both apropos and ironic for the one that many called the King of Hardcore.  
  
I watched as the door opened. Eddy came out the door. Someone else followed him. This person had dark brown hair streaked with gray. He wore sunglasses. He looked familiar but I wasn't quite sure who he was.  
  
"You have to be shitting me!" D-Lo said from the front seat. "What's Shane McMahon doing there?" I looked closer. Yeah now I could see it. I had seen photos in the papers during the research. There was no denying it. That was Shane McMahon.  
  
The two men went to Eddy's garage and entered a Black SUV, which confused us even more since Uncle Eddy usually drove a red and white Caddy which hopped about like one of those cars in those old mid to late 1990s so called 'gangster' rap videos.  
  
As the SUV Eddy and Shane were in started up, D'Lo made a move to block the vehicle.   
  
"NO, wait!" I cried out, grabbing D'Lo's arm.  
  
"What are you crazy?" D'Lo asked.  
  
"Let's follow them." I suggested.  
  
"What?! What are you crazy? Athena Hart exclaimed, echoing D'Lo.  
  
"Maybe we'll get more answers that way." I said.  
  
"Still crazy," D'Lo muttered putting the Saturn out of park to follow Eddy and Shane.  
  
We drove for a couple of hours realizing that we were heading to more rural landscaping and further from anything close to resembling civilization. If I remember my history lessons from school correctly, this was one of the areas that the federal government had barred from ever being logged or turned into commercial areas when President Maria Kennedy Schriver took office in 2008. I wondered why Eddy and Shane would go out this far. We didn't have to wait too long.  
  
It was around 9am when we saw a wooded cabin in view. We lengthened our distance form Eddy and Shane's SUV since by now we were the only two vehicles on that stretch of road. We pulled to a stop a couple hundred yards from where the black vehicle had stopped right in front of the cabin. We parked behind some woods that while hid us from Shane and Eddy, gave us a clear view of the house and the two men getting out of SUV and heading for the door of the house.  
  
The door opened and I saw a man I couldn't recognize come out and greet Uncle Eddy and Shane McMahon. We saw them talking for a bit but couldn't hear what they said. The man went back inside and shut the door. Eddy and Shane talked briefly to each other. I wondered what they were saying. The door opened again and another man stepped out...  
  
I think my heart skipped a few beats and I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing.  
  
There he was. His hair was thinner, grayer. He was still muscular but not as much than he'd been during his wrestling days. Though he was far away, I could see his face. It was still the same face that had kissed me good bye right before that fateful PPV.  
  
I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car. I stayed beside it, still gazing at the figures on the porch. One of which I'd believed dead for fourteen years.  
  
"Dad," I whispered still looking at Chris Benoit.  
  
"Daniel," I heard Athena whisper, breaking me out of my spell. I looked at her, could see her touching my arm, obviously in an attempt to try to get me back into the car. To try and avoid making a potentially disastrous scene. I'd turned to acquiesce to her silent plea when I saw her freeze in shock. I'm pretty sure the expression on her pretty face was the same one I'd worn a few seconds earlier.   
  
I turned around look at the porch again to see what had startled Athena so much. Then I saw. My Dad, Shane, and Eddy were still on the front porch, but another had joined them. Almost or about as tall as my father but a little bit more stockier. He had short blonde hair with streaks of gray in it. His nose resembled that of Hunter Hearst Helmsley's. I'd never met the man in my life, but I'd seen enough wrestling videos, particularly of my father wrestling him to know exactly who that fourth man was.  
  
Damned, I'd hoped Athena wouldn't have to deal with this. I'd had some minor warning with the videotape, which I suppose was real after all. Poor Athena had no warning. She was frozen like a statue in shock.  
  
"Daddy," she whispered, staring at her father, Owen Hart. 


	16. Get Out of Here

Notes: Chapter 17 may take a little longer. That was never finished.  
  
Get Out of Here  
  
"What the hell is going on?" D-Lo asked from behind me. I guess it was too loudly because they turned in our direction but they couldn't see us. I was so shocked I didn't know what to do. Athena was crying.   
  
I started to go forward but Chavo grabbed my arm. "Just a second."   
  
They went back into the cabin. "I need to know!" I said loudly.  
  
"I know you do. We all do. Let's talk about this for a second."  
  
"We came this far and I want to know what's going on!" I said struggling out of his grasp.  
  
"Kid you've got your father's temper and your mother's stubbornness." He said shaking his head.  
  
I gave up on trying to talk about this. Damn it I need to know! I'd come this far and this was what I had set out to find out. It may be more then I ever thought it would be but no one was stopping me.   
  
"Danny come back here!" Chavo yelled but I was already by the cabin. Shut up Chavo. I silently thought as I walked up to the door. As I was about to knock, I felt someone's hand on my arm. I turned to see Athena standing there. She nodded.   
  
"Come on Danny don't." Chavo said making me wonder if perhaps he had known. But I looked at him and realized he didn't.  
  
I knocked the door opened and almost slammed in my face. But I had stuck my foot in the door.   
  
"Daniel get out of here." Eddy said so quietly I almost didn't hear him but it was in a harsh voice.   
  
"But Eddy..."  
  
"Get the hell out of here now!" He said in the same volume and tone.   
  
"Eddy whose at the door?"   
  
"No one." He called. Then said to me, "Please go. You can't be here."  
  
Athena surprised me by pushing the door open hard. It must have surprised Eddy because he landed on the floor. Everyone in the cabin came to see what was going on.  
  
A guy I didn't recognize had a scowl on his face. My father and Owen just stared blankly at us. I think Shane did recognize me but I'm not sure. His face didn't really show anything.   
  
"I'll handle this." Eddy said to them. "It's about business matters." He said giving us a look.   
  
Chavo nodded and pulled Athena and me out the door before I could say anything.   
  
Eddy came out and signaled us to go away from the cabin. "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" He demanded.  
  
"I received a video the other day."  
  
"A video? What kind of video?"  
  
"One that shows a medic telling my father to play dead."   
  
All the color left Eddy's face. "That's not possible...there couldn't be one...it was gone." He was muttering to himself. Then he said in a much louder voice. "Damn it I've worked too hard to let it go up in smoke like this!"  
  
"You lied to me." I said to him starting to lose my temper.  
  
"No shit! What was I going to tell you Danny? That your father was alive and living in Kentucky with her father!" He asked pointing at Athena. "Just get out of here and pretend you saw nothing."   
  
"But Eddy..." I started to say. Then Eddy did something that shocked us all.  
  
He punched me. I sat on the ground staring at him in shock. He took off. Chavo helped me to my feet.   
  
"You okay?" I nodded but I wasn't.  
  
I was going to find out what happened if it was the last thing I ever did. 


	17. Meeting Marissa

Dedicated to Elizabeth 'Miss Elizabeth (In WWF) and Liz (WCW)' Hewett. One of wrestlings original divas. We also get to claim a couple people. We claim Andi and Wes.  
  
Meeting Marissa  
  
Chavo helped me to my feet. "That was so unlike Eddy. He always said he thinks of you like a son."  
  
"So now what?" D-Lo asked coming back. He had followed Eddy but came back and said Eddy wouldn't stop.   
  
Chavo still had a shocked expression on his face. "We could hang around in town. I'll call Eddy and see what the hell is going on."  
  
We went into town and I walked over to a park. I still haven't gotten over the shock that my dad really is alive and that so is Owen Hart. I sat in the park just watching a group of kid's play.  
  
"You know you shouldn't be here." A voice said from behind me. It was a feminine voice. I knew it wasn't Athena's. I turned around to see a tall woman with long brown hair standing there. I knew who she was because she really didn't look any different. I think it was Marissa Mazola McMahon. I just remember seeing her in the Scorpion King. Well then again I wouldn't have known that if Tatem hadn't told me. I was surprised she recognized me. "It's a school yard." She continued.  
  
She didn't recognize me. Then again, I don't think I ever met her.   
  
"I hadn't realized. I thought it was a park."  
  
She smiled. "Well you are half right. I take it you aren't from around here."  
  
"I live in Louisville."  
  
"Ah. I'm Marissa West."   
  
"Christopher." I said shaking her hand. I thought it would be a good idea to not mention my last name and decided to use my middle name. Interesting that she changed her last name.  
  
"Mommy!" A voice yelled running in our direction. I saw a young boy jump into Marissa's arms.  
  
"Christopher this is my son Wes." He looked at me then looked at Marissa. "It's all right sweetie. Where's Andi?" She asked. He pointed over to a girl that looked to be a couple years older who was playing four square.   
  
"Cute children." I said to her. They looked more like Marissa but Wes had the famous McMahon cleft. Poor guy.  
  
"Thanks. They are both handfuls." She put Wes down. "Go tell Andi it's time to go." He ran off. Her eyes never left him.  
  
"I have a ten year old brother. They are handfuls at all ages." She laughed. I saw Chavo walking my way. I better go before she sees him and wonders how I know Chavo. "I've got to go. Nice talking to you."  
  
"You too." She said and I ran over to where Chavo was standing.   
  
"There you are. I just got off the phone with Eddy. He wanted me to tell you he's sorry for punching you and that he promises a meeting between all of us later tonight. You up to it?"  
  
"Damn right I am." I said. He grinned.   
  
"Come on. D-Lo and Athena are waiting for us at a restaurant." I followed him thinking that finally I'll get answers tonight. 


	18. Surprise?

Surprise?  
  
I could barely sit still on the drive to the cabin. I was finally going to talk to my father. Eddy did tell us he hadn't told them anything. I gazed over at Athena who was looking as nervous as I felt.   
  
D-Lo was still shocked by all of this and had told us he wouldn't miss this conversation for the world. This was only fair since he had been dragged into this without knowing what was really going on.  
  
When we arrived at the cabin the mystery guy was waiting. "I'm Agent Michael Erichson. I want you to know right away, what I am allowing is against my better judgement and you can not tell anyone what you will find out tonight. You have to swear on that. And if you do I will arrest you." We swore. "Okay come on." He led us into the cabin.  
  
Before we did so though Chavo grabbed me by the arm and said, "Don't say anything right away. Eddy said they don't know it's you."  
  
Marissa's face showed shock when I entered the cabin. I guess she did not expect me to come into the cabin. She was sitting next to her two children who were sound asleep on a couch. Owen, dad, and Eddy were sitting on a second couch. Shane wasn't in the room for some reason. "Christopher?" Marissa asked confusion etching her face as we sat in chairs.  
  
"Christopher?" Chavo said looking at me strangely. I shrugged. I didn't tell anyone my conversation with Marissa earlier today.  
  
"Okay whatever." Eddy said though I think he was glad that I had used an alias. "Guys this is Sierra and Christopher I think you already know everyone."  
  
I sort of tuned out the introductions. I sat there looking at my father. He was sitting there staring at all of us. I turned to look at Athena and she was staring at her father she looked like she wanted to say something but Eddy and Chavo made sure we couldn't.  
  
"How did you guys survive?" D-Lo asked.   
  
Owen looked uncomfortable. "By breaking many ribs and puncturing a lung for me at least. Chase told me to not move and pretend to be dead. I don't remember why until I woke up in a hospital bed under the name George Peterson. Chase was there when I woke up and told me the whole story. He said that the wrestling world believed I was dead. It was Vince's doing that caused me to fall that far. To protect my family I had to pretend to be dead. And Eddy was there too. He's the one who helped get me somewhere safe."  
  
I squeezed Athena's hand as she gasped at the information. I looked over at Uncle Eddy who wouldn't look at me. What the heck was going on?   
  
My dad started speaking. "I was never crazy about wrestling Goldberg especially in a title match. I still remembered his ending Bret's career. Something felt really off when I was lifted in the powerbomb I tried to move out of it but Goldberg dropped me down hard and that's all I really remember except, like Owen, Chase told me not to move and to pretend to be dead. Eddy was there in the ring I remember that telling me to hang in there. I didn't break my neck but it certainly was strained and with a severe concussion. I was also in the hospital under a different name, Louis Andrews and I stayed hidden to protect my family."  
  
"Didn't you ever want to tell them?" I asked. Chavo shot me a look. I know I wasn't supposed to say anything Chavo but come on.   
  
"Of course we did!" My dad said. "I have three children. One of them was only four years old! He's eighteen now. I would love to talk to him."  
  
I was about to open my mouth when Chavo gave me another look.   
  
Owen continued. "I have two of my own who are in their 20s now. You don't know what it's like to be separated from your family for that long."  
  
"We know better then you think." Athena said.   
  
Chavo and Eddy both pulled Athena and me out of the room. "Don't say anything!" Eddy said. "Don't you dare. You guys said you wouldn't!"  
  
"Uncle Eddy I'm tired of this!" I finally said. "That's my dad and I need to talk to him!"  
  
"He's my what?" Well that's not how I wanted my father to find out!   
  
Eddy turned around and looked at my father with a deer in the headlight look.   
  
"Uh hi dad." I finally said. "I'm Daniel."  
  
I didn't know my dad was the fainting type. 


	19. Getting to Know You Again

Getting to Know You Again  
  
Everyone rushed into the room when they heard my dad hit the floor. "What happened to Chris?" Agent Erichson asked.  
  
"Fainted." Chavo said.   
  
"Why?" Then I think it dawned on him. "You told him! You weren't supposed to tell him!"  
  
"It sort of slipped out. I didn't know he was in the doorway!" I said.   
  
"Told him what?" Marissa asked looking confused.  
  
"That I'm his youngest son Daniel." I said.  
  
"Is this supposed to be some family reunion?" A new voice said coming in from one of the bedrooms. Oh so, that's where Shane was.   
  
Owen stared at Athena for the longest moment and then he started crying. "Athena?"  
  
"Daddy!" She ran into his arms and they both cried. Well at least that's one happy family reunion. I scared my father.  
  
"You know what? I give up!" Eddy said and stormed out of the cabin. Chavo ran after him.  
  
D-Lo looked uncertain of what to do. So he went outside too. Guess he really did get a chance to play peacekeeper for this.   
  
I went back into the living room and sat down. My father walked in a few minutes later.   
  
"Does your mother know?" He asked me right off the bat.  
  
"No I didn't tell her. Didn't have time. All I was doing was trying to figure out if the tape was real or not."   
  
"I missed you." He said giving me a hug. "How I've missed you." He said I could hear the tears cause him to choke up. "You, your mother, Megan, David, and Tatem. I had wished I could have told you guys. There were times when I actually had the phone in my hand. But I knew I couldn't. All of your birthdays were the hardest. Eddy kept me up to date for awhile but never told me you were training!"  
  
"And he never told me you were still alive." I shot back.   
  
"Good point." He said and actually chuckled I think from nervousness over anything else. He looked at me closely. "That bruise looks rather new."  
  
I had almost forgotten about it. How was I going to tell my father that Uncle Eddy had punched me? "Someone was trying to make a point." I said.  
  
"Were you at the door this morning?" He asked ignoring that for the time being I think. "I could hear Eddy arguing with someone but never knew who it was. He just said it was nobody."  
  
"Yeah we were. We tailed Eddy to get answers."   
  
He nodded. "Eddy's been great these past fourteen years. He's always made sure the five of us have everything. He was glad to take the OVW job because it kept him close to here. That's how he ran into Shane and Marissa. But I think they should be the ones to tell you how they got into this." He said before I could ask.  
  
"Eddy said the same thing. But I could tell he wasn't telling me something. And then when I saw the video my first thought was that he was lying." I said. "But with his drug and alcohol problems..."  
  
"Wait a minute! What drug and alcohol problems?" Now my father was confused.  
  
"There were rumors that he was back into using drugs again after you 'died.'"  
  
"He didn't Daniel! I saw him almost all the time after he and his wife moved here with their kids. He was really trying to straighten his life out. Even with all the stress of hiding us he said he wasn't ever resorting to it."   
  
"The way he reacted today you think he did."  
  
My dad stared at me again. "He hit you." He said more of a statement then a question.  
  
"Yeah but..."  
  
He was out the door calling for Eddy.  
  
Uncle Eddy, D-Lo and Chavo came back into the cabin a few minutes later. Eddy and Chavo sat on opposite sides of the room. D-Lo didn't look at all happy. My dad walked over to Eddy and pulled him to a standing position. Marissa had taken her children to their bedrooms awhile ago. Owen and Athena were still in the kitchen I think.  
  
"I need to know something Eddy." He said in a low voice. "Did you punch Daniel?"  
  
The deer caught in a headlight look returned to Eddy's face. "Chris..."  
  
"Answer the question." Dad said letting go of him.  
  
"Yes but I didn't mean to. I just couldn't handle the situation. I was trying to get them to leave. And they wouldn't."  
  
"So you go and hit my son?" Dad asked incredulously.  
  
"Well yes but..." Uncle Eddy's stammering. He turned to me and said, "I'm sorry Danny. I'm so sorry."  
  
And I knew he wasn't just referring to hitting me. 


	20. Like Father, Like Daughter

Notes: The next few chapters are in Athena's POV. This chapter is written entirely by Jules.  
  
Well, this was awkward to say the least.  
  
A part of me wasn't entirely sure I hadn't died or something. This morning I was poor Athena Hart, the girl who lost her father when she was 3 in a stupid tragic stunt, that had nothing to do with actual wrestling, who had to hide what she was doing form her own family. People had actually had the gall to tell me that I was lucky I was so young and that I had so few memories of him. Would make it easier to move on and forget him.   
  
Forget him! I wanted to shake those people by the arms or punch them or anything at the top of my lungs that I'd been happy to have gotten to spend just one more DAY with him. Just have some more memories of him. I didn't WANT to forget him. I used to spend countless hours in my room wishing that God would send him back to be with his family where he belonged.  
  
So imagine my surprise this morning helping Daniel Benoit find out the truth about what had actually happened to his father, that I got my nearly 20 year wish standing about 200 yards away from me. Truth be told I'm not sure what really happened from the time I saw my dad's face for the first time in 19 years to when I helped Danny practically push down the door Eddy Guerrero was trying to block. I'll I can remember was feeling shock, disbelief, maybe some anger and resentment at having been lied to all these years and wondering how the hell my dad survived that fall 19 years ago. I wondered if that was how Danny felt when he'd first seen the tape of his father's match with Goldberg, obviously it wasn't as fake as we'd thought it might be.  
  
This morning I was a fatherless child. Now I'm sitting across the kitchen table from my very much alive father catching up on nearly 20 years. When he'd finally recognized me after Danny's dad fainted, the resentment left and I was that three year old girl again wanting her daddy to hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right Life's funny sometimes.   
  
A thought struck me. MOM! How the hell was I going to keep this from her. True, she'd never remarried after my dad's death but still to believe your husband's been dead for 19 years? And oh God, how the hell I'm I going to keep this from Uncle Bret the next time I'm home? From everything I was told growing up Dad's death destroyed my uncle. Of course there was the fact that if he was told now he'd probably have another stroke and I didn't want to lose another family member, not after losing my grandfather nearly a decade ago and my grandmother not long before that.  
  
"Um," Dad started, seemingly unsure what to say. I feel the same way. What do you say to somebody you haven't seen in almost 20 years? Somebody you thought you'd never see again.  
  
He looked at me with a shy, nervous expression. He took a long look at my hair. "Don't remember your hair ever being red." He said. It wasn't much, but it was an icebreaker.  
  
"Um, I've dyed it," With the amount of time I spend dying it red and redying it back to blonde I'm surprised all my hair hasn't fallen out by now. I've just now gotten it to the point to where I can dye my hair red without getting my fellow wrestlers and most of the trainers suspicious and blond without getting my family suspicious. Although if I forget to redye it blonde every once and awhile, it won't be too off for my family since I've dyed my hair all sorts of colors during High School and college. I was going through a rebellious stage.  
  
My dad nodded absently. Neither one of us were comfortable. How could we? This was something neither one of us ever expected. I never expected to see my long - believed dead father actually alive trying to talk to me and I'm sure he never expected to see his 22 year - old daughter actually finding him alive. Damn I want to know why Eddy kept this a secret all this time.  
  
"Why did Eddy call you Sierra?" Dad asked with a slightly confused expression on his face. Speaking of secrets. Yikes!  
  
I guess when Eddy says he'll keep a secret, he keeps a secret. Obviously Dad did NOT know I was training to be a wrestler. Do I tell him that? I have no idea how he'll react to that. I mean my Mom's going to be ballistic when she finds out. How will I deal if my Dad doesn't approve of my wrestling? Couldn't hurt to tell him. Not like he'll actually tell my Mom and Uncle Bret, right?  
  
I took a deep breath. "It's actually my alias," I began, "my wrestling alias."  
  
The look on my Dad's face was absolutely priceless. His eyes were about as wide as they could be and his jaw was almost to the floor. I thought for a minute that he might faint like Danny's father did.  
  
Fortunately he shook himself out of his shock. "Your a wrestler?" He asked, shock still apparent in his voice.  
  
"Training actually," I replied. "That's how I know Danny. Eddy, D'Lo, and Chavo are my trainers. The red hair is apart of my gimmick. I was OVW's top female heel. Right now I'm beginning a storyline to put me with Danny and his tag team partner and turn their previous valet heel."  
  
"And your mother actually approves of you doing this?" Dad asked in disbelief. Guess he did know about Mom cutting ties completely with wrestling and not letting me and Oje even look at a wrestling product.   
  
"Probably not," I said, then knowing what I'd said, I sighed. "Well, she probably wouldn't, if she, knew, about it. I trailed off making a face at on the last few words.  
  
Dad sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I take it Bret doesn't know either?" I shook my head. No, Uncle Bret most emphatically did NOT know about my wrestling. I'm sure his reaction would probably be worse than my mother's reaction would be. "I'm sure your mother's wondering what your're doing in Kentucky without an education?"  
  
"Um, well, she would, if she didn't already think I was in pre - med. at Stamford, instead of having dropped out to come to OVW full time a year ago." Lovely how I keep making this worse and worse.  
  
Dad's eyes widened even more. "Just how long have you've been with OVW total?"  
  
"About two and a half years." I began to explain. "Me and my friends when to Kentucky for Spring Break, a trip which Mom knows about BTW. My friends managed to convince me to attend a wrestling show, which Mom doesn't know about. We went and also entered this silly contest to be a guest valet for one night and I got picked. I had black hair back then and used my middle name so as to not be recognized. I was with the heel that night and well suffice it to say the crowd's response got to me.  
  
"I went back to school and tried to resume my classes. Problem was I couldn't get how much fun I had being in front of the crowd even though they were booing rather than cheering. So whenever I had a break I went down to OVW to participate in some shows as a valet and on occasion participate in a wrestling class or two. Shortly after I'd began going back and forth I told Eddy who I was and he promised that he'd keep who I was a secret. Which he apparently did too well, I thought, but refocused back on telling my story.  
  
"After about a year of that, I started realizing that wrestling was what I really wanted to do, not the pre - med. I was studying and Mom wanted me to get into. So I dropped out. I redye my hair blonde whenever I come home to Canada and I send letters to make Mom, Oje, and Uncle Bret believe that I'm still in California. It's not exactly the best situation but it's the only one I could think would work for both me and them."  
  
My Dad gave another sigh. "It's not right to keep that a secret from them Athena. Especially your dropping out of school from your Mom." I noticed he hadn't said anything directly about my keeping my training a secret.  
  
I gave my Dad a look. "Secrets tend to run in the family Daddy." I said, sure there was some resentment in my voice this time. Could anybody really blame me? Why the hell did everybody think it would be best to make me believe my father was dead for nineteen years? Whoever came up with the idea try to keep my Dad being dead a secret deserves to be shot. Oh yeah that was most likely Eddy.  
  
And I STILL don't know who tried to kill my father. Although if my grandfather was right that would be Vince McMahon, my Dad and uncle's former employer.  
  
Dad looks even more uncomfortable than he'd been when we first sat down to try to start this conversation.  
  
"I'm sorry," he chokes up with tears in his eyes.  
  
He's sincere in his apology, I know he is. I sigh, feeling the tension drain from me. The events of the day have completely exhausted me emotionally and I know I can't hold onto my anger against him not telling me the truth. People have told me all my life that my Dad rarely held a grudge and could never stay angry at anybody for very long, unlike my Uncle Bret, who could hold very long grudges against people and has held one against Vince McMahon for well over 20 years. I guess I'm finally finding out what parts of me I inherited from my Mom and which I inherited from my dad because I can't stay angry at my father over this.   
  
Eddy Guerrero may end up being another story.  
  
Dad chuckled. I looked up sharply at that. I have few memories of my Dad but his laugh is one of them. I haven't heard that sound in 19 years.  
  
"What's so funny?" I asked.  
  
"Just thinking, Like Father, Like Daughter," he said smiling, it's been a long time since I've seen my Dad smile in person either. "Your story reminds me a lot of what I went through when I started wrestling under your grandfather." He trailed off with a slight look of sadness in his eyes. So he does know about my Grandmother Helen and Grandfather Stu. I know he'd have liked to have seen them again.  
  
I reached across the table to squeeze my Dad's hand and looked him in the eyes. He seemed to know that, whatever happened next, I didn't hold it against him about keeping his death a secret. I don't think I ever could.  
  
"I still don't think keeping your training from your Mom and Uncle Bret is a good idea," Dad started. "But I see in your eyes that it's something YOU want to do, so I hope one day I can actually see you in the ring. At least a video of your work at OVW, if Eddy can keep his neck long enough to help you get something for your old man."   
  
Now I laughed. I feel relieved. Finally at least somebody in my family knows and actually approves of what I'm doing, even if that somebody doesn't exactly approve of my methods of keeping what I'm doing a secret and is supposed to be dead.  
  
"Just don't work for Vince, or I guess Stephanie, since we've heard she's running the show in the WWF now, okay?" Dad asked.  
  
I just nodded. Dad really doesn't have to say anything else about who tried to kill him, not to me now. That last question pretty much confirms my suspicions anyways.  
  
We heard a knock and looked up to see D'Lo Brown in the doorway of the kitchen looking slightly uncomfortable himself. I could imagine. It's not everyday you actually see the dead walking and talking. Shane McMahon's with him.  
  
"Hey," Shane starts. It's funny, here I am actually listening to the one McMahon my Uncle actually spoke positively about in 20+ years when yesterday we didn't even know where the hell he was. "If you want you four can stay for the night, it's getting too dark and it's not safe to drive these roads at night."  
  
"I agree," Dad said. "We can confer with Michael and Eddy about the sleeping arrangements." Took me a minute to realize that 'Michael' was Agent Erichson.  
  
"Where is Eddy?" I asked. In hugging my father I was vaguely aware of Eddy storming out, followed by Chavo and D'Lo chasing after him. I figure if D'Lo was back, Eddy and Chavo were back as well.  
  
"Lucky to be a live after Chris found out about Eddy hitting Danny." D'Lo said stroking and slightly pulling at his ear, which all of us trainees at OVW have learned is something he does when he's nervous.  
  
"HE WHAT!?" My Dad and Shane said loudly. I winced. In the process of talking with my father, I'd forgotten that somewhat minor detail. Oh well, I don't feel very sorry for Eddy right now.   
  
Dad sighed. "What was he thinking?"   
  
"What were you all thinking?" D'Lo said sharply.  
  
"D'Lo," my Dad began.  
  
"No, you made people believe that you were dead for nearly 20 years and made everybody believe Chris Benoit was dead for almost 15. What's the matter with you all? You realize all the pain and agony you've caused everybody? To your family? To Chris' family?"  
  
"My Father sure as hell didn't," Shane McMahon muttered.  
  
D'Lo had a slight look of shock on his face. Maybe there was one on mine. I don't know. I think up until Shane said that, there was a little bit of uncertainty as to whether Vince was involved in my Dad's and Danny's Dad's being made to fake their deaths. But if Shane McMahon was convinced...  
  
My trainer sighed and put his head in his hand. "Tell me I'm not going to get anymore surprises?"   
  
"Not tonight, D'Lo," my Dad reassured D'Lo. "Not tonight."  
  
I wondered. I noticed my Dad say not tonight. But he didn't say definitively that there wasn't going to be any more surprises down the pike coming. Made me a little worried.  
  
Me and my Dad got up and went with Shane and D'Lo into the Cabin's living room to discuss the sleeping arrangements that night. 


	21. Cheap Condolences

Cheap Condolences  
  
I woke up the next morning bright and early. I'd always been a pretty early riser while my   
brother Oje, tended to want to sleep until noon. How he ended up married with children is   
beyond me. Because it was too late by the time most of the explanations were through, it   
was decided that we should probably just spend the night at the cabin and head back to   
OVW in the morning (though me and Danny both agreed before we went to bed that   
there were still some secrets that were being kept from us).   
  
I decided I needed some fresh air having still not processed everything I learned   
yesterday. I mean, yesterday I'm a girl who grew up without a father and this morning I'm   
waking up to see my dad make breakfast. It's all a bit surreal to me. Like something out   
of those soap operas my Mom loves to watch or something. Although it was nice to go to   
sleep for the first time in 19 years and know that Dad was close by.  
  
I glanced across the clearing from the porch to see Agent Erichson standing by one of the   
pillars appearing to be waiting for something or somebody to show up. Maybe it was   
somebody else Dad and the others were keeping from Chavo D'Lo, Danny, and me.   
More probably his relief. I mean the guy can't be watching Shane, Marissa and Me and   
Danny's dads all the time right? I almost feel sorry if it is the relief coming in. He or she   
has no clue what she's about to walk into.  
  
I'd taken a brief jog through some of the woods surrounding the cabin, feeling the need to   
get some excursion in. As I made my way back to the cabin I saw an old Porsche barrel to   
a stop in front of the cabin next to the SUV that we tailed to the cabin containing Eddy   
and Shane yesterday. Boy, I sure got more than I bargained for by agreeing to come along   
on this trip didn't I?  
  
As I looked, I saw a blonde woman who looked to be in her late forties step out of the   
car. Talk about plastic surgery city. The woman looked like she'd done everything she   
could to keep her so - called youth. Forgive me I'm not being catty but I'm being honest.   
She bounced up the steps and actually kissed Agent Erichson full on the lips. I'd noticed a   
ring on his left finger last night but I hadn't actually considered that he'd actually told his   
wife about this.  
  
As I got closer to the cabin, I started to take note of the woman's appearance. She had   
blonde hair with whispers of silver around the front. As she turned around I ducked   
behind the SUV, and got a sudden jolt of recognition.  
  
I'd seen this woman in countless times throughout my life to know that face from   
anywhere. In fact, I'd been once asked to be a flower girl at her wedding. The facial   
features were the same as were the dark eyes. Her hair was up so I didn't know if it'd   
changed other than the gray. Yeah this was the same woman my Uncle Bret considered a   
close family friend.  
  
THAT BITCH!!! I thought as I lost all sense of control as anger and betrayal took over   
my senses as I charged towards the porch and the woman who'd looked my family square   
in the face and lied to them for at least 19 years. I landed a spear as my trainer Adam   
taught me to and brought the woman down. She seemed quite surprised to be attacked.   
Okay she probably was, considering she wasn't expecting anybody but who she knew to   
be there.  
  
I started punching as beating her up as Charlene "Jazz" Moore had taught me to do and   
got a couple of really good hits in as I think I may have broken her pretty little nose.   
Agent Erichson pulled me off her. "Don't you EVER touch my wife again or I'll have you   
in jail so fast it'll make your head spin!"  
  
"Your wife?" I asked incredulously. "How about family traitor?"  
  
Agent Erichson's wife was still stunned from the spear and punches I threw to react so I   
pressed on: "You looked Uncle Bret right in the eye at Dad's 'funeral' and you offered   
your cheap condolences. CONDOLENCES! "  
  
"Tell me something AUNT Tammy. Did you get a sick pleasure out of seeing Uncle   
Bret's pain? Out of seeing my Mom cry her heart and soul out over losing her husband all   
the while you knew, YOU KNEW Daddy was alive."   
  
The woman I'd known all my life as Tammy Lynn Sytch looked to still be in shock but   
recognition was also starting to come into her eyes. "Athena?" she strangled out.   
  
I snorted. "Well, you got something right for once. Too bad you didn't have the decency   
to do it earlier. Might've saved Uncle Bret a stroke and not cost me my grandparents!"  
  
"Athena!" Dad called whether hearing what I was shouting, wondering what was going   
on out front I don't know. But he came up to the door with a concerned look on his face.  
  
I spit at Tammy and then took off towards the room I'd stayed in last night before   
anybody could see me break down into tears of anger and betrayal. 


	22. Tearfully Tragic Explanations

Notes: This is going to be a little darker than we've gone into so far.  
  
Athena's POV:  
  
I locked myself in the room I'd been staying in and cried. How could she do this? How could she betray my family like that? Didn't she care that everything with my family fell apart after my Dad's 'Death'? Didn't she care that my Uncle Bret and my mother were absolutely destroyed by it?  
  
I heard a knock on the door.  
  
"Athena?" It was Tammy.  
  
"Go Away!" I shouted through my sobs.  
  
"Athena? Please honey, I know we need to talk? Please open the door?" Tammy Lynn's voice pleaded through the other side of the door.  
  
Reluctantly, I opened the door. "Talk."  
  
"I know your mad at me - " Tammy started to say.  
  
"Mad! Try betrayed!" I shouted to her face having the pleasure of seeing her flinch.  
  
Tammy sighed. "Please sit down and I'll explain. Everything."  
  
I didn't know quite what Tammy meant by that, but I sat as she asked. Figured I might as well hear her out before I kick her ass again.  
  
Tammy shut the door and sat down next to me.  
  
She took a deep breath and let it out nervously.   
  
"First off," she began, "I didn't know your dad was alive when I attended his funeral. I didn't find out until several years later, not long after everybody, me included, thought Danny's dad had 'died.' Right when I was getting involved with Michael.   
  
"What do you mean 'When you were getting involved with Michael?' Whatever happened to your last husband, Chris?" I asked derisively. In 2002, she married a guy named Chris Candido. I was a flower girl at the wedding. I was six at the time. From what little I remember, the marriage rather disintegrated a couple years later. Nobody would tell Oje or me why saying we were too young to understand.  
  
"That's why I need to tell you this story from the beginning. Because there are something's you weren't old enough to know and I'm still not sure how you're going to be able to handle them, but you need to know," Tammy said haltingly, looking more and more jittery.   
  
"What do you remember me spending the night at your Mom's when you were 8?"  
  
I nodded. "Mom wouldn't let me or Oje see you but she said you were there and Mom's not one for lies, so I didn't have any reason to not believe her. Um, something else. I overheard her, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Bret talking that night and something about 'how Chris could do that to you and how it was unfair of him to do that do you.' When I asked Mom later, she said that it was none of my business and that I was too young to understand.  
  
"She's right Athey," Tammy replied, calling me by my childhood nickname. "You could never understand what that bastard did to me, but now it's necessary to know what he did, so you can understand how I got involved in this mess and met my guardian angel all at the same time."  
  
"Me and Chris' relationship started going downhill even before we got married. I stupidly thought that being married would magically fix things. I couldn't have been more wrong."  
  
"Me and Chris got married in 2002, and for awhile things were just like they used to be between the two of us. But then Chris started getting back heavily into drugs and wanting to have a baby. I didn't want to bring one into that environment. After a couple years of being married, I realized that Chris and me were just no longer compatible and I told him I was leaving him. To say that he didn't take the news well would be an understatement.  
  
"He threw things at me. Calling me every name in the book and accusing me of sleeping with every name in the book. He then pinned me down and abused me. Physically, and sexually. He stopped after awhile and I called Bret since we were visiting Canada when I told Chris I was leaving. He came back before Bret or anybody else could get there."  
  
"The last thing I remember before I woke up in the hospital was Chris standing over me with a brick in his hands."  
  
"I woke up in immense pain, especially in my pelvic area. That was when the doctors told me that Chris had crushed my vaginal area and doctors had to perform a hysterectomy to save my life."  
  
I stared at Tammy in shock, I knew that the relationship had gone badly but I didn't think it had ended that badly. Up until then, I don't think I hated anybody worse than I hated Chris Candido. Despite my own anger, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Tammy as she told her story.  
  
"Ironic isn't it? The man wanted me to give him a child so much, but yet he took it from me," Tammy snorted bitterly as she let years of pain and sorrow show on her features. "Then again if he hadn't destroyed me so bad I'd have never met Michael."  
  
"I had a restraining order against Chris while the trial was going on for his trying to kill me. Michael was one of the agents that helped in force it. We were very cordial, very professional with each other at first. After a few months, we developed a friendship. One night he took me out to dinner to celebrate my divorce from Chris and, that was when it started to turn something more. He was sweet and caring and everything Chris had, looking back never been. We started dating and after a couple months, he proposed to me. I kind of got scared given my romantic past and asked if I could think about. Wonderfully he did, but at a cost."  
  
He started becoming a little more distant spending more and more of his time incommunicado. So one day I learned he was in Kentucky. I stupidly thought he was seeing someone else. So I tracked him down in a small town not far from her and I followed him all the way to the cabin. I was surprised to say the least."  
  
I thought of a hundred different scenarios for what I would find when he went to the door of the cabin and I prepared for all of them. I never thought I'd see Owen Hart walking out the door and talk to Michael. Surprised was an understatement. I think they were both surprised to see me running up to them asking 'What the fuck is going on!' The looks on their faces was priceless."  
  
"They ushered me inside and finally told me pretty much all they knew. Shocked the fucking hell out of me. Further shocked when Eddy came through the door with Chris Benoit. I agreed to help them because, truth be told I really had no love for Vince after Montreal when he screwed your Uncle Bret."  
  
Tammy took a deep breath. "So that's how I got involved in this mess. I'm so sorry, for keeping this for you. I don't know how to make it up to you."  
  
"Yeah, me too" I said, choking back tears of both anger and sorrow. Hearing Tammy's story made me feel sorry for her, but it didn't quite make up for the fact that she kept this from me. Didn't help ease the hurt of betrayal of her keeping the fact that my dad alive all this time from my family. My family lost so much in the last 19 years would really have been so bad to reveal that my Dad was alive?  
  
"I think we better get back downstairs before everybody thinks you killed me or something," Tammy suggested wiping some tears in her eyes. She shot me a puzzled look.   
  
"Where did you learn to spear and throw punches like that?" she asked.  
  
"Um, well, I'm kind of training at OVW," I stammered out. Why was it so hard to admit that I was training? Maybe because up until today NOBODY who knew me from my family had known about it.  
  
"Your what?" Tammy exclaimed. "Bret and your Mom know about this?"  
  
"No, and please don't tell them? I wanna do it in my own time." I pleaded.   
  
"Well, it's been awhile since me and Bret talked. Your secret is safe with me," she said.  
  
Taking a deep breath, I stood up. "Let's go downstairs." I said.   
  
Tammy and me got up and left the room reeling from the tragic tale told. 


	23. A Crazy Thought

A Crazy Thought  
  
Notes: back to Danny's POV.  
  
I didn't want to leave the cabin. But Eddy explained the situation that it was not safe for us to be up here because too many people up here might raise suspicions.   
  
I hugged my dad before getting in the car. Tears started to go down my face. I think it's the first time I've cried since we got here. We hugged for the longest time before I had to get in the car. Athena and I both watched the cabin until we couldn't see it any more.   
  
I was glad I was going back to Louisville. It would be hard to lie to my mother knowing what I now knew. I hated lying to her. But I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I knew it was to help dad. It's not like it'll come up anyway.  
  
I didn't say anything the ride back to Louisville. I let what I now knew sink in. But I also have a few questions about the WWE. I've never actually seen RAW or Smackdown because mom wouldn't let me watch them. Not counting wrestling at OVW I've never been to a wrestling show. My parents thought I was too young before dad 'died' and then mom didn't want me anywhere near it after. Not that I hadn't seen wrestling tapes growing up. I had access to some old ones when I went to my friends' houses.   
  
I wonder how it is now. I wonder if there's something at the show that might give me an idea because I knew they weren't telling us everything. Hmm I wonder where RAW is next week.  
  
***  
This will probably go down as the worst idea I've ever had. I mean I've done some stupid things growing up but this has to be at the top of the list. I know that both of my parents would kill me if they found this out. Not to mention Athena when I mention it to her. But I need to know. I want to know.  
  
I called my best friend from high school Stan who I knew was a big wrestling fan. That's how I was able to see some wrestling tapes. His dad was a huge fan in the 90s. He's going to college in Atlanta. I hope he's not in class. I call his cellphone. "Hello?"  
  
"Stan it's Danny."  
  
"Hey Danny! How's wrestling? You winning?"  
  
"It's going pretty good. Hey I was wondering if you know where RAW is this week."  
  
There was a long pause. "It's in Kemper. Why?"   
  
"I'm thinking of going to it."   
  
"Are you crazy? That arena killed Owen Hart. Where you going after that Phillips Arena?"  
  
"I just wanted to check something out. And no I'm not going to Phillips Arena. My mother would kill me."  
  
"Look I've got a class. Think before you go to RAW." We said goodbye.   
Now I need to call Athena and see if she'll come with me to Kemper. I called her.   
  
'Hello?' She asked.  
  
"Athena it's Danny. I wanted to ask you something."   
  
'Hi Danny. What is it?' She asked.  
  
"Well I was thinking of going to RAW Monday just to check something out. And well I was wondering if you wanted to go." I was bracing myself for when I tell her where it is.  
  
There was a long pause. 'Where is it?'  
  
"Kansas City Misso..."  
  
'Wait a second! You want me to go to Kansas City Missouri the same building Vince McMahon tried to kill my father in! Are you completely nuts?'  
  
"That's what my friend said when he told me where it was. Anyway I'm planning to go and thought that maybe you'd want to go. There's a few things I want to check out. I'm going to be wearing sunglasses and a hat."   
  
There was another long pause. I was sure she was going to say no. Well I could just go to the show by myself. Or I could call Stan. I'm sure he'd go. "I understand. I..."  
  
'I'll go. I'm curious too.' 


	24. Surprise at Kemper

Notes: Jules you can kill my muse if there was something you wanted to add to this chapter. I couldn't think of anything.  
  
Surprise at Kemper  
  
"Don't go!" I said to my father. He picked me up.  
  
"I have to kiddo. When you wake up in the morning I'll be downstairs waiting for you. And we'll spend the whole day together. Tatem's even missing school." He kissed me on the cheek. "You behave for Mrs. Nichols."  
  
"I wanna come."  
  
"Sorry Daniel you can't. You are a little young for the WWE. I'll see you tomorrow." He said and walked out the front door with Tatem and mom.  
  
"Come on Daniel." Mrs. Nichols said. "Why don't we draw your family some pictures." Mrs. Nichols was my favorite baby sitter. She wasn't that old and she was always nice to Tatem and me so I followed her into the living room and drew pictures for my family.  
  
Later that night I was trying to stay awake. I wanted to be awake when daddy came home. I heard the door open and ran out my door. I stood in the doorway and watched as Mrs. Nichols and mom hugged. Tatem was crying too. Where was dad?  
  
"Thank you for staying Mary." Her voice shook as she spoke. "I really appreciate it."  
  
"I can stay longer if you need me to Nancy. I already called my husband and told him that I'd be staying here for awhile longer. He had heard on the news..."  
  
"Danny." Tatem said seeing me in the doorway. She was the only one who called me Danny.   
  
"Oh God Daniel." My mother said turning to see me standing in the doorway.  
  
"Where's dad?" I asked. He said he'd be here! He promised me he'd be here when I woke up.  
  
Mom took me and led me over to the couch. "Daniel there was an accident tonight."  
  
"Car accident?"   
  
"No honey in the ring. Your father got hurt really bad."  
  
"He's in the hospital."  
  
"No honey. Your father's in heaven."  
  
"Like Grandpa Davis?"  
  
"Yes just like grandpa Davis."  
  
"No!" I said running away from her. My dad couldn't be dead! He couldn't!   
  
"Daniel?" Someone said shaking my shoulder. "We're here." Her voice shook as I looked to see that we were indeed in front of Kemper Arena in Kansas City Missouri. Athena and I were about to go see RAW from the front row.  
  
***  
We entered the building. I had a hat and sunglasses on so no one I knew would recognize me. Athena had re dyed her original hair color because she was leaving after the show for home but she wore a scarf. She knew her family wasn't watching but just in case.  
  
I didn't know any of the wrestlers wrestling so I wondered why I was here anyway. I had no intention of ever working for the WWE. I guess what Shane had told us about his family never caring that he and Marissa disappeared sparked my interest. And the fact that I knew they were hiding something from me. Maybe I'd find it at this show.  
  
I went to get Athena and I some drinks during the break before RAW officially started. A lot of fans were talking about the fact that Cameron had wrestled in a dark match.   
  
"Danny?" A voice said from behind me. I pretended not to hear them. I knew who that was. It was Hunter Hearst Helmsley. I was incognito tonight. "Daniel Benoit? Who would have thought you'd ever be at a WWE show."  
  
"I think you have the wrong person." I said turning around. How did he figure out it was I anyway?  
  
"You can't fool me kid. I've known you for a long time." He reminded me. "Come on. Steph would love to see you."  
  
By now people were looking at us. I sighed and followed him. We walked into a large dressing room, which had been changed into an office. "Hey Steph look who I found in the arena." He said. I took my sunglasses off. There was no reason to keep them on now.  
  
"Wow Daniel Benoit. It's been years." She gave me what I perceived as a phony smile. "I did hear through the grapevine that you were training in OVW though. Maybe I'll have someone watch you wrestle."  
  
"No thanks. I'd rather work for WCW."   
  
She actually started laughing! "That company is such a joke. It's a wonder it's still running. Even my brother had trouble keeping it afloat that's why he left I think. He was embarrassed. It's better that he left anyway. Dad was going to pull the company from him."  
  
What? I thought. Shane never really said why he left. He just said no one cared that he did in his family and he was happy with that. I had thought it was preposterous.   
  
"Don't look so surprised kid." HHH said. "WWE bounced back. WCW is still having trouble."  
  
"You know what? That's Bullshit! You lost almost all of your roster when..." Oh shit I think I went too far with that.  
  
They looked at me strangely. But I was the one who ended up being the most surprised. I turned around and saw one person that I thought would never show up in WWE. I felt lightheaded.  
  
"Hi Danny." She said with a slight smile on her face.  
  
"Megan?"  
  
"No hug for your older sister?" HHH said from behind me.   
  
I was too stunned to say anything. My twenty-one year old sister was standing there.   
  
"Just visiting friends Danny." She said. "Really you should have listened to Tatem when she said not to go into wrestling."  
  
Damn it! Why was this happening to me? I pushed past her and ran back to the arena. I told Athena we needed to get out of there. 


	25. Homecoming

Notes: This is from Athena's POV. Sorry for the slowness in the update. Don't ask why I didn't get it together and add little things to this part! Sorry the part is small. Jules has written chapter 27 and is going to write chapter 26. 27 will be long =).  
  
I knew something was wrong when Daniel and I left Kemper but he wouldn't tell me what. He was pale. I offered to drive since he was shaking so badly. When we arrived at the airport, we hugged goodbye. I finally tried asking again what was the matter but he wouldn't tell me.  
  
I boarded the plane to California. I wanted to keep up the charade that I was going to Stanford. I have a friend in California that I mail my letters to my family to and then she sends them from there. They haven't caught on yet. She met me at the airport and handed me a couple of letters that she hadn't had an opportunity to forward to me. I of course didn't tell her anything that happened. She told me a few things that had been happening at Stanford so I'd know what to say if anyone in my family asked. Hopefully they wouldn't.   
  
The plane wasn't very full and I actually had a row to myself. There was a movie on that I hadn't seen yet. Training at OVW doesn't leave me much time to go see movies. I watched that to pass the time.  
  
As I got closer to Calgary I started to worry. How could I talk to my mother and not tell her that dad's still alive? It would be a test that was for sure. It would be hard to face Uncle Bret too. He took dad's death hard from what my mother told me. then there was the fact that I went to Kemper. That definitely didn't need to be addressed. Although I have a feeling the Guerrero's are going to kill us if they find out. They certainly had no idea we went to Kemper.  
  
When I landed in Calgary I was not only met by Mom, my brother Oje, his wife Mandy and their son Tim, and my Uncle Bret also met me. My mother hugged me tightly. And then Uncle Bret hugged me tightly. He had recovered quite well from the stroke he had sixteen years ago. Of all my aunt's and uncle's, and trust me I have a lot of them, he's my favorite. This was going to be difficult. My brother gave me a half hug and then I hugged Mandy and Tim.   
  
The ride to Uncle Bret and Aunt Julie's wasn't silent. They asked me all kinds of questions about college and stuff. And I answered them as truthfully as I could. I was very happy that my friend had filled me in. I don't think I said anything to raise suspicion but I was glad when we arrived at their house.  
  
There were a lot of people there including Aunt Julie, my cousins Jade, Dallas, Alexandra who stopped being called Beans many years ago, Blade and their families. Aunt Martha was there along with Aunt Diana and all of their kids and families. And that's all I could see at the moment.   
  
How the heck was I going to survive this week without telling them? 


	26. Danny’s Breakdown

Notes: Next couple of chapters are written by Jules. Chapter 26 should be up tonight. Going to visit my horse =).  
  
Danny's Breakdown  
  
I was just numb all the way to the airport. Athena must've noticed how upset I was because she offered to drive. When we hugged good-bye at the airport she tried one last time to get me to tell her what was wrong. I couldn't. I was too upset.  
  
I took a plane back to Kentucky my brain on autopilot all the way there. I called a cab to take me back to my apartment. Some part of my brain still figured I was in too much of a state to drive and figured I could call Cam in the morning to get my car. Cam should also be back from Kemper by then.  
  
I opened the door to my apartment and slid down it crying as soon as I shut it. Everything was suddenly too damn much at one time. Dammit why! Why the hell was my sister friends with the Helmsleys.  
  
Did she know what they did to dad? Did they tell her? Or was she just too blind and egotistical to see through them. I finally decided it was the last. I had too. The other possibility was just too horrifying for me to consider.  
  
I knew my sister hadn't been sheltered from wrestling like me, Tatem, and Trevor were. My mother wanted nothing to do with the McMahons after my dad's death and I have vague recollections of her throwing Stephanie and Hunter out at some gathering my family had after my dad's funeral. So maybe it wasn't so farfetched that my sister might have been befriended by the Helmsleys. I don't know anymore. I thought even though we'd never been close that I knew my older sister, but I guess I didn't.  
  
I'd love to talk to somebody anybody right now, but I couldn't. I couldn't tell Dad or Uncle Eddy because of the fact that I went to Kemper tonight and I can't tell Mom for the very same reason. Damn when did my life become such a mess?  
  
I went and stumbled into my bed and just sobbed. I must've feel asleep for a couple hours at least. When I woke up I picked up the phone. I needed to talk to somebody regardless of me getting yelled at.  
  
"Hello?" a female voice answered.   
  
"Hi Tammy, is my Dad there?" stupid question.  
  
"He's asleep Danny, it's 4:30 in the morning," Tammy answered. She must've heard something in my voice. "Danny is something wrong?"  
  
"Yes, no," I sighed, "I did a really stupid thing last night Tammy."  
  
In one breath I let out the whole story about my idea to go to Kemper (Leaving Athena out of it so she didn't get in trouble), going there, running into the Helmsleys, my outburst in their office and running into my sister there. I'm not sure why I decided to blurt out something so personal to somebody who was a virtual stranger to me. Maybe because I felt she wouldn't be angry or disappointed in my decision because she didn't know me. I don't know.  
  
"Oh Danny," Tammy said. There was a compassionate tone in her voice. Not the judgmental one there would've been in Mom's voice or the anger there would've been in Uncle Eddy's. "I won't say that it was the smartest thing to do, but I think even if you hadn't found out about your father you'd have been curious about the WWF anyway. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody."  
  
"I just don't get Megan," I said feeling more and more comfortable talking to Tammy. "I thought she knew better than that."  
  
"Honey, Vince McMahon can talk anybody into doing anything they wanted too, even if half the time they didn't want to do it. I should know." Tammy snorted bitterly. "Stephanie's inherited that same 'gift' of persuasion so I not surprised or shocked that she would try to manipulate somebody as young as Megan. Maybe if you told her some of what you knew she'd what the McMahons really were."  
  
"I can't, I can't tell her!" I said urgently.  
  
"Danny why?" The phone went silent for a few seconds. "Danny, you don't think."  
  
"No, I don't think the Helmsleys told her." I said reinforcing my earlier beliefs not to believe the first thought I had about my sister's involvement coming into my apartment earlier. "But I don't want to put her into any unnecessary danger by telling her the truth as much as I want her to know."  
  
"I understand," Tammy said. I actually believe she did understand my reasoning.  
  
I sighed still feeling overwhelmed by the events of the last couple of weeks. "Would I be the worst person in the world if I said that sometimes, I wish, I wish - "  
  
"That you never found out that your dad was alive?" Tammy finished for me.  
  
"Yeah. I know that sounds so awful and terrible, but sometimes I feel like if I could find out who sent me that videotape of Atlanta that I could ring his neck. That, maybe things would be simpler, easier if I had just thrown that tape away and not even viewed it. My life certainly wouldn't be the mess it was now," I blurted out, feeling like the most traitorous person in the world saying that.  
  
"No, Danny, your not the worst person in the world for saying that, just human. There are things I wish had never happened in my life that if hadn't happened would make my life easier, better," there was a wistful tone in Tammy's voice. I thought back to the day I first met her at the Cabin. After her conversation with Athena she had such a haunted and regretful look in her eyes. I wonder just what was said between the two women.  
  
"Ever wish you hadn't found out about my Dad and Owen?" I asked.  
  
"No, I don't. I'd never would've married my husband otherwise or had gotten one of my closest friends back," she replied honestly. "Danny it's all right to hate the circumstances or have thoughts like your having now. You're a young man who's gotten the biggest shocks of his life in only a couple weeks time and not much time to process it. Thing's will eventually get better."  
  
"Thanks Tammy, I actually do feel a little better now. Maybe what I needed was to talk to somebody impartial." I said.   
  
"I'm here if you need to talk to me again," she said. "I'm going to let you go, you sound like you need some sleep and everybody here is going to be up soon."  
  
"Okay, Tammy?" I asked before I could think, "Why were you up at 4:30 in the morning?"  
  
"Old nightmare kiddo," the husky voice replied. "I'll talk to you later."  
  
Sensing she didn't want to go further into the issue, I said my good-byes, then I laid back down on my bed and went into a dreamless sleep. 


	27. Out in the Open

Notes: Written by Jules. 28 may be up soon also. Well not as long of a wait anyway.  
  
I finally decided I couldn't keep two secrets at the same time from my family. It was way too much. One of them had to be let go. Since I couldn't tell anybody about Dad, I decided to finally come clean about my training. Funny, I'm actually more scared about what my Mom's going to think of me trying to be a wrestler than I am about her finding out about Dad.  
  
"Mom, Oje, Uncle Bret, Aunt Julie? Can I talk to you?" I asked when I came into the living room. "It's kind of important."  
  
Uncle Bret had a weird look in his eyes, like he almost knew what I was going to talk about. "Sure honey," he said gesturing to the couch on the opposite side of where my family were. I realized my hands were shaking and I'm pretty sure my heart was racing.   
  
Taking a deep breath, I told the story of how I ended up going to an OVW show with some of my classmates on a trip to Kentucky during Spring Break (Mom knew about the trip, not about the fact I'd attended a wrestling show) about two years ago. Being asked to be a special valet for the show (I'd had black hair back then. I was going through a Goth phase). Enjoying the rush of the crowd and the way they booed me and the heel I was walking out with. Going back to school and not being able to get it out of my head or finding anything close that had ever ignited my passions. The trips I took back and fourth to check out the shows and maybe get the chance to do some more valeting/managing to finally about a little over a year ago quitting school altogether to enroll in OVW full time to train to take bumps and what was really my real goal, wrestle in the ring full time.  
  
Needless to say my Mom wasn't thrilled at all. She yelled about how I could be so stupid to enter the same business that got dad killed and everything I'd pretty much heard before over the last nineteen years. I had to fight to reign in my temper lest I get into a shouting match and blurt out something along the "nothing killed dad, he's still alive," out at her. That's not really how I want my family to find out about dad and I figure it would make an already explosive situation on all fronts even worse.  
  
Speaking of making things worse, my Aunts Ellie and Diana just happened to have been eavesdropping on the whole conversation. Shit. They've like, been the McMahon's bosom buddies for so fucking long, who knows what they might say to Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. That could DEFINITELY make things worse for me AND for Danny, since, if me and Danny were caught on camera at RAW, it wouldn't take even a vapid twit like Stephanie Helmsley much to put two and two together and realize I was at the show with Danny. That would definitely field questions from the McMahons/Helmsleys that I DEFINITELY did NOT want to answer.  
  
My Aunt Ellie's eyes lit up as she digested the news. "Maybe I could pull some strings with Stephanie to get you a couple of tryout matches or something," she babbled. I decided right then I definitely had no problems with lying to Ellie and Diana (who know that I think about it don't even deserve the titles of Aunt, considering all the shit they pulled with the McMahons after my dad's 'death") about Dad. No problem at all.   
  
"You'll do no such thing Ellie. In fact you and Diana get out." Uncle Bret said.  
  
"But Bret - "   
  
"Get Out!" my uncle said in an intense voice that I'd never heard him use before. That scared me somewhat.   
  
My aunts grumbled and left. My Mom was pacing up and down, very agitated. The only time she ever got like that was when me and Oje did something colossally stupid growing up. I guess in her mind this would count as colossally stupid. Funny how two people see the same thing differently.   
  
"You'll call your so called trainers in the morning," My Mom began, "you'll tell them that you are respecting your families wishes and quitting this so called 'dream' of wrestling. Then you and I will be on the first plane out to California and your butt will be back in a Classroom finishing your degree at Stanford if I have to pull every string in the book to do it!"   
  
This was my moment of truth. Did I bow to Mom's demand or did I follow my own path?   
  
"No."   
  
Mom looked to be in absolute shock. "No?"   
  
"I'm sorry Mom, I can't. I know how much the business has hurt you but I can't quit. I love it too much. I'm sorry."   
  
Mom and Oje both looked absolutely speechless and shocked. Neither me nor my brother have defied Mom on anything before, at least not on something this major. So this was a major event in my family.   
  
Mom took a few moments to find her voice. "Young lady, I am your mother and you will do what you're told, and what I've told you to do is - "   
  
"Martha," my Uncle Bret spoke up interrupting my mother's tirade, "she's 22 years old. It's time for her to lead her own life without our interference or guidance."   
  
There was a ripple of shock that spread through Uncle Bret and Aunt Julie's living room. Uncle Bret was speaking up for me. That in and of itself wasn't too shocking since Uncle Bret would occasionally defend me and Oje over the years if he thought Mom might be going to far in guarding her children from the world. But Uncle Bret was defending my right to learn how to wrestle? The same man who blamed Vince McMahon (and rightly so as I've now learned) for everything bad that's happened to my family, is saying that I should be allowed to enter the same business that McMahon has monopolized for years?   
  
My looked surprised and maybe a little hurt and betrayed that Uncle Bret wasn't backing her up on this one. Hurt and betrayal seem to be going around a lot these days.   
  
"Your condoning this?" My Mom asked incredulously.   
  
Uncle Bret looked at his hands then looked at me and my Mom. "When Athena was telling her story, I saw a fire in her eyes. Something that only somebody following their dreams knows about. One of the few times I've seen that look was with Owen early in his career, before all the crap with Vince started. If this is her dream and she wants to follow it, then it's her choice and her life to lead." I couldn't help but feel guilty under his gaze, especially given what I'd found out over the last few days.   
  
Mom threw her hands up in the air. "Fine. But don't expect any support from me." And with that my Mom turned to walk out the door. "Are you coming?"   
  
Uncle Bret stood up to put his arm around my shoulders. "I think given everything tonight that it would be best if she stayed here."   
  
Mom sighed. "Fine. We'll talk in the morning. Maybe you'll see things my way by then." She walked out the door.  
  
Oje looked like he had murder in his eyes. "How can you be so hurtful? Being in the same business that killed Dad!"   
  
"Oje - " I started to say. I'd thought of everybody he'd been the one that would've been supportive of me.   
  
"No! It killed Dad, it killed Gramma, Grandpa. It killed Uncle Davy! It killed Uncle Jim and if you do this it'll kill you too!" I was too speechless to respond. Of all people Oje was the last person I'd expect to believe and throw the so called 'Hart family Curse' in my face.   
  
"Until you quit like Mom told you to, I have no sister!" and with that my brother stormed out.  
  
I collapsed onto the floor and burst into tears. This whole last week has been a rollercoaster and Oje's outburst was the crack that finally broke the damn inside me.   
  
Uncle Bret enfolded me in a hug and just let me cry everything out.   
  
"Hey it'll be okay," he said in the same soothing tones he'd used after my dad 'died.' "Julie?"   
  
My aunt understood. "I'll get her bags and put them in the guest room." I'd driven with my aunt and uncle on the way to their house. Ever since Uncle Bret's stroke sixteen years ago, he hasn't been allowed to drive. Aunt Julie drove us from the airport, my bags were in their car.   
  
After my sobs subsided, I looked at Uncle Bret with suspicions of my own.   
  
"You knew didn't you?" I asked.   
  
Uncle Bret gave me a sad smile. He eased my shaking body to a standing position and led me to the couch. He went to his video library and pulled out a couple of DVDs off the shelf. Unlike most homes these days My uncle's has both a DVD and a VHS player. I was shocked when the boxes had the initials OVW on them. He put one of them in. I recognized the match right away. I was seconding Cameron and Eric Angle's son named after his brother, Kurt who'd had his neck broken at WM 19 in a match against Brock Lesner (People too this day have said it was so stupid for Kurt to have taken that match when he should've gotten neck surgery) who were facing Danny Benoit, and Randy Orton with the as usual arrogant Simone "Pebbles" Johnson, the daughter of the so called Great One the Rock (sometimes I thought she and I were cast into the wrong roles up till a month ago when Simone was put with Kurt Jr., I started walking out with Danny) for the tag team titles a few months ago. Funny how things can change in a few months. That was the first night I'd met Danny as a matter of fact. I even managed to make Simone cry in the Sharpshooter (Teach your dad to steal my family's move, bitch).   
  
"Where did you get that?" I asked curious.  
  
"I got a package a few months ago from Eric Bischoff, saying that he had something that I might be interested in. Took me a few replays to recognize you under all that Red." I blushed. I'd figured dying my hair red and going by Sierra would keep me from being noticed. Apparently not if Bischoff recognized me.   
  
"Haven't figured out if he thought I already knew and wanted to see you in action or if he was trying to tip me off or cause trouble. Hard to try to get a time to talk to him with him still working for Vince." I could hear the distaste in Uncle Bret's voice at speaking Vince McMahon's name. Can't say now that I blame him for that distaste.   
  
"Why didn't you rat me out to Mom?" It was a fair question given my uncle's and my Mom's distaste for wrestling after Dad's 'death.'   
  
"I meant what I said when I said you had your Dad's fire. I looked at that match and a few more, even a couple of your wrestling matches. Your pretty good. Better than some of those women over there."   
  
"You mean the arrogant pampered bitches who think that OVW's just a stepping stone to get into the WWF and eventually into Playboy?" I suggested, again thinking of Simone Johnson.   
  
Uncle Bret smiled. "you do have that fire in you. The same fire that drove him to try to get into wrestling. Did we ever tell you about how Grandpa didn't want Owen to get into wrestling?"   
  
I shook my head. That shocked me. From all the stories I was told about my grandfather, Stu Hart had trained all of his sons to wrestle. Even trained Chris Benoit and Chris Irvine a.k.a. Chris Jericho in his infamous 'Dungeon."   
  
"I think my dad was much like you Mom. He wanted one of his boys to have a life outside of the wrestling business. I think he knew of what lay ahead of us when we pursued it and wanted a least one of his children not to have to experience that," That made sense I suppose. With the exception of Oje, nearly every member of my family has been a wrestler or been a wrestler. Must be genetic.   
  
"Owen was determined. For awhile he did everything short of wrestling at Stampede when it was around." Stampede was the company my family owned before Vince bought it out from under my grandfather. "Concessions, passing out programs, building the ring. He virtually did it all just to be in the arena to watch us wrestle. Finally my Dad gave in and agreed to train my brother. He was so thrilled, he almost didn't mind the bumps and bruises that he'd gotten in the Dungeon."   
  
My uncle grew wistful, almost nostalgic as he was thinking back on those simpler, more innocent days of his family. "That enthusiasm that I saw in his eyes, I saw in your eyes whenever you were in that ring. And when you were standing up to your Mom tonight. Give Martha and Oje some time to digest it. Okay?"   
  
"Okay," I said softly. All the time I was feeling more and more guilty for keeping Dad a secret from Uncle Bret. From everything I was told growing up, my Dad's 'death' took something out of Uncle Bret. Something that was never again the same.   
  
"Just do me a favor? Just don't go to the WWF okay?" My uncle asked.   
  
"I don't think you have to worry about that one Uncle Bret." There was no way in hell after all I'd learned that I'd ever have anything to do with Vince or Stephanie, although there was no damn way I was telling him I'd gone to Kemper arena with Danny tonight. A horrifying thought came to mind: "What if Ellie and Diana tell Stephanie and Vince?! I mean most don't know who I really am and if they tell - "   
  
Uncle Bret cut me off. "Let me deal with Diana and Ellie. They've done so many things to fracture and hurt this family, I'll be damned if they hurt you too. Come on tell me about your training and you life in Kentucky."   
  
So we talked for a good portion of the night and I think it might have been 3 or 4 before either of us thought of going to bed. We talked about my training, comparing it to when Uncle Bret and my Dad had trained under Grandpa. Uncle Bret thought Eddy, D'Lo and Chavo were taking it too easy on us. We talked about the fact that I could be come the first female Hart to actually step into the ring and wrestle, and I admitted that might have played a small role in my decision to start training for matches. I told him about my friendship with Danny and a few others at Ohio Valley (Though I figured that it probably wasn't the best thing in the world to tell him that me and Cameron Hickenbottom dated for a couple months). Finally we looked over old photo albums. Some were of me and Oje growing up, others were of my Dad and Uncle Bret in earlier days at the beginning of their careers.  
  
I wondered if I could take one of the albums of me and Oje growing up with me when I went back to Kentucky. One of the things my dad hadn't gotten over the years were photos of me and Oje growing up since my Mom and Uncle Bret were pretty much determined to keep us out of the public's view completely, so as to protect us from the rumors that had been spreading over the years. Some of which I now knew for a fact were true. Eddy, not being as close to the Harts as he was to the Benoit family was never able to get any photos of me and Oje and Tammy admitted that she was afraid she'd rouse suspicion in Uncle Bret if she stole one out of the house, given all the rumors of her drug use during her failed marriage to Chris Candido. I asked Uncle Bret if I could take a couple of albums for me to look at when I went back to training and he said yes. I figured if I couldn't tell anybody my other secret, then I could at least do something for Dad and show him what me and Oje were like growing up.   
  
By the time I left to go to bed, my Uncle looked at me with a pride in his eyes and maybe a little of sadness to. His final sentence nearly killed me: "Your Dad would be so proud of you."   
  
If only you knew, Uncle Bret. If only you knew.   
  
This was definitely going to be a long visit. 


	28. Tapes

Notes: Dana wrote this and it's Danny's POV. The shit starts to hit the fan really quickly from here on out. I don't think it settles down for awhile.   
  
Another tape  
  
I woke up a few hours later not feeling too rested. But I felt a bit better after talking to Tammy. It did help to talk to her. I went got my mail from downstairs. There was the usual junk mail and bills. But I was surprised to find a package in the mailbox. Same packaging as the last one and handwriting. So I was pretty sure there was another tape in it. I opened the package and another note fell out. It was definitely the same person. It said:   
  
The last piece of the puzzle.   
  
What could it mean now? The last time I got a tape it showed my father hadn't been killed by a powerbomb. What was left for me to know? And you know what? I almost didn't want to know. But curiosity won out in the end I guess. I had an old VCR at home. I put it in. At first I didn't know what it was. It was a picture of backstage.  
  
Vince was talking to someone. I couldn't see who it was because Vince was blocking the view. "You take care of it?"  
  
"Yes it's all taken care of. It should happen shortly."  
  
There was screaming from the arena. And people were yelling from backstage. "Someone get the medics! Owen fell!"  
  
I swear I saw Vince shake whoever's hand.  
  
As soon as the tape stopped I was on the phone immediately. Even through I knew Owen was alive I was mad that I never heard about this tape and I was going to get answers. And I knew a number to get them at. I called Eddy's cellphone.   
  
'Hello?'  
  
"Why didn't you tell me about the Owen tape?" I demanded.  
  
'Danny?' He sounded shocked.  
  
"Yeah it's me. Why didn't you tell me about the Owen tape?" I repeated.  
  
Nothing was said right away. I wasn't even sure if Eddy was still there. I heard mumbling in the background. 'Daniel?' My father was now on the phone. He sounded worried.  
  
"Why didn't you guys tell me!" I said nearly crying from all the shit that's been happening lately. I'm not sure how much more I can take.  
  
'The tape hasn't turned up in twelve years we thought it was gone. I'm sorry.'  
  
And I hung up. Yes I hung up on my own father. It's a habit I seemed to have picked up from Tatem.  
  
I buried my face in my hands. Everything was spinning so out of control. I mean it was just yesterday that I found out my sister was friends with the Helmsley's. What else could possibly happen now? 


	29. No Longer a Secret

Notes: back to Athena's POV written by Dana  
  
No Longer a Secret  
  
I walked into Uncle Bret and Aunt Julie's living room. He was watching something on the VCR. I didn't think there was anything strange about that right away. I mean that's what the room was for after all. But when I stopped in the doorway I couldn't help but gasp. Uncle Bret was watching the video that Danny got about his father!   
  
He turned around tears were streaming down his face. He had another tape in his hand. What was that other tape? I didn't know of another tape. "Where'd you get that?" I asked pointing to the TV.  
  
"It came in a package along with this one. With a note that said All these years and you didn't know. Ask Athena."  
  
Oh no. How was I going to explain that? But Uncle Bret spoke before I had a chance to.  
  
"You've seen this tape before haven't you?" He asked. I nodded too scared to answer. "You know about this one?" Referring to the one that he held in his hand.  
  
I shook my head. "I only saw the one playing." He hit stop and put the tape in.  
  
I swear I thought I was going to faint. I mean I was pretty sure Vince McMahon was responsible for what happened to my father that night from what I gathered but this. This was just too shocking for words  
  
I also felt like crying. Why didn't they tell us about this tape? I had a right to know. Who was sending these tapes anyway? And why would they send it to Uncle Bret after all of this time?   
  
Uncle Bret looked at me after hitting stop. "What do you know about these tapes?"  
  
"Nothing." I lied quickly. I hated lying to Uncle Bret but I couldn't tell him that dad and Chris Benoit were alive as much as I wanted to. Danny! I thought. He should know about the tapes. "I'm a little tired Uncle Bret. Jet lag I guess. I'm going to turn in." I said walking away hoping he believed that. When I got to the guestroom, I quickly checked to make sure Uncle Bret didn't follow me.   
  
I called the number at the cabin. Eddy answered. 'Hello?'  
  
"Eddy? It's Athena. Uncle Bret received two tapes. One was the Atlanta tape that Danny received. And the other has Vince shaking someone's hand after my father fell."  
  
'Oh God.' I could hear him telling someone in the background that Bret got the tape too.   
  
"Eddy? What is with that tape? Did Vince pay someone to make my father fall?"  
  
'We think so. Look Athena call back later. We are still trying to figure out what to do with this situation. Call Danny. We are really worried about him.' He hung up.  
  
I dialed the number that Danny had given me. It rang and rang and rang. Finally, I got the answering machine. I left a message.  
  
'Daniel? It's Athena. Uncle Bret has seen two tapes one you haven't seen before. I don't know what to do! Call me at the number I gave you. Oh and call Eddy, he's worried about you.' I hung up and was about to turn around when a voice stopped me.  
  
"Eddy huh?"   
  
Oh shit. I thought before turning around. "Uncle Bret how much did you hear?"  
  
"The message you left Daniel. I want to know everything you know." 


	30. People are Coming Over

Notes: Danny's POV and Dana wrote it.  
  
People are Coming Over  
  
My phone started to ring. I am not answering it. It's probably them trying to explain. The answering machine picked it up. "Danny? This is Ric Flair there's something I need to know. Call me at home." I picked it up before he hung up.   
  
"Hello Ric?"  
  
'Oh good you are there. I got a video in the mail today.' Oh shit I thought. Which one? 'With an interesting little note that said All these years and you didn't know. Ask Danny. I watched it Danny and I have to know: What the hell is going on?' He yelled. I moved the phone away from my ear. Well I have two of them.   
  
"I can't tell you."  
  
'You can't tell me that Chris Benoit is alive?' He's still yelling. Tears started to roll down my face. 'Because it sure as hell looks like he is. Is the video fake?'  
  
"No." I whispered.  
  
'When were you going to tell people! Does your mother know?'  
  
"No."  
  
'I'm coming over there.'  
  
He hung up. I lay on my bed and cried. I guess I got what I asked for. The phone rang. I don't want to talk to anyone! I thought as the answering machine picked up. 'Daniel? It's Athena. Uncle Bret has seen two tapes one you haven't seen before. I don't know what to do! Call me at the number I gave you. Oh and call Eddy, he's worried about you.'  
  
I took my phone off the hook. I can not deal with this!  
  
***  
  
I stayed inside most of the day because I still had my car at the airport. I didn't want to talk to anyone on the phone even if it was to ask Cam to pick up my car. Heck with the way things are going Ric can take me to get it when he arrives. I sigh.  
  
There was a knock on the door. When did I become so popular! I know it can't possibly be Ric yet. I went over to the door and looked out the peephole. It's worse then Ric.  
  
It's my mother.  
  
As much as I want to pretend to not be home I can't. She's innocent about this as I was until a few days ago. I open the door. "Hi mom." I said hugging her. I let her in. "What brings you to Kentucky?"  
  
She takes a seat in the living room. I had thankfully put the tapes away before she could see them. That's definitely not the way I want mom to find out. "What? Can't a mother come see her son?"  
  
I shrugged. "I guess so."  
  
"I've tried calling you the past few days but you haven't been home."  
  
"Been out of town."  
  
"Oh?" She looked over at my desk. Oops I had forgotten to put the phone back on the cradle.   
  
"Had to see a few people." I said going over to hang up the phone. Though knowing how things have been going that could be a bad thing. Oh well. "How's Trevor and Jason?"  
  
"Oh they're just fine. Jason sends his love and Trevor said he misses you." Mom said. "So how's training?"  
  
"It's going fine. Uncle Eddy, Chavo, and D-Lo are great trainers. There are a few second and third generation wrestlers there and even a fourth generation wrestler there. I'm hoping to go to WCW."  
  
"That's good. I don't want you anywhere near WWE."  
  
I cringed. I wonder if now is a good time to tell her what Megan's been up to. "I uh went to a WWE show last night."  
  
She turned to look at me as if I had grown another head. "Please say you are kidding Daniel."  
  
"Went with a friend." I am so not saying that it was Athena. "And talked to Stephanie and Hunter Helmsley."  
  
She bit her lip. "How are they?"   
  
"They seem fine. Oh and Megan was there. But I didn't stay the whole show." I said quickly.   
  
"What?!" She asked. "Your sister was there? What was she doing there?"  
  
"Um hanging out with Stephanie and HHH."   
  
"What is wrong with this family?" Mom yelled. I took a step back. Don't cry! I told myself. Don't cry! But I'm tired of people yelling at me. "Oh Daniel." She said pulling me into a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that."  
  
I just let her hold me as I sobbed out everything. Not that I told her but letting the tears go helped. 


	31. They're Here

I'm not sure how long we stayed like that. Me curled up with my head in mother's lap and her not saying anything. And then the blasted doorbell rang causing me to jump. Probably enough time for Ric to get here. She kissed the top of my head like she used to when I was a kid.  
  
"I'll get it." She got up. I stayed curled into a ball sobbing. "Hello Arn. What brings you here?"  
  
I sat up and wiped the tears out of my eyes. It wasn't Uncle Ric after all but Ric called him. I could tell. He was looking at me with barely concealed anger. Please don't tell my mother I silently pleaded.  
  
"Drove up to see how OVW was doing." Uncle Arn said. "And I knew that Danny was training here and thought I'd drop by. How are you doing Nancy?" oh good he's not going to tell her. that was a relief. A small one but still a relief.  
  
"Been better. Just found out my former stepdaughter is hanging out with HHH and Stephanie Helmsley. How about you?"   
  
"Bout the same with the exception of not knowing that." I started to inch out of the room. "Wait a second Danny I need to talk to you alone if that's all right with you Nancy."  
  
"Oh sure. Why don't I go to the store or something. I'll be back later."  
  
My mother left. I was left facing Arn. I wish I could have gone to the store. "Ric told you didn't he?"  
  
He stared at me for a few minutes. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"  
  
"Uncle Arn I've only known for less then a couple weeks! and I was sworn to secrecy."   
  
"Who else knows?"  
  
"I can't tell you."  
  
"Well when were you going to tell your mother?"  
  
I bit my bottom lip. That was a good question. That's something I almost didn't want to tell her. "Don't tell her."  
  
He sighed. "Kid you can't do this to everyone. You have to tell them."  
  
"I can't!"   
  
the doorbell rang. I wonder if I could climb out the window because I sure as heck wasn't ready to talk to him, Ric Flair.  
  
"Eddy!" Arn said. huh? I thought. looking past Uncle Arn to indeed see Uncle Eddy.  
  
"Arn?" Eddy asked. He saw me standing there. I probably looked like a mess. "What's going on?"  
  
"Was kind of hoping you could tell me Eddy. Ric got a video today."  
  
"Did you?" He swung around to look at me.  
  
"No. just got back into town last night."  
  
"Back into town? You were...please say you didn't go to Atlanta."  
  
"No." but I sure as heck am not going to tell him I was in Kansas City!   
  
Arn luckily didn't say anything during that exchange though I'm pretty sure he had no clue what we were talking about. But he came back to the mater at hand. "Why didn't you tell us Eddy?"  
  
"I couldn't!"  
  
"I can understand if Danny couldn't but Eddy you've known for fourteen years!"  
  
the doorbell rang again. Yeah this was going great. Now I'm pretty sure that that's Ric Flair.  
  
While Arn and Eddy yelled I answered the door. Sure enough it was Ric Flair. I opened it. First thing Ric did was shove Eddy into the wall. "Start talking Guerrero." He said.   
  
"I know the video looks bad..."  
  
"Looks bad? Looks bad? It showed me that Chris Benoit was alive after the powerbomb! And you were in the video Eddy! What is wrong with you? You booked RAW that Monday! And yet you wouldn't tell anyone?"  
  
Uncle Eddy sagged against the wall. He booked RAW? That was news to me. "I couldn't Ric. You have to understand I couldn't tell anyone."  
  
"And you waited 14 years to tell Danny?" Uncle Arn asked.  
  
"No. I had no intention of telling him. He and a few others followed me and they found out. Look Chris is fine."  
  
"You kept Chris away from his family for fourteen years!"  
  
"No you don't understand! It was in order to protect them. After fourteen years you don't even think about it anymore."  
  
"Well we sure as hell did!" Ric said. "And you!" He said turning to look at me. "You hung up on me."  
  
"He's been making a habit out of it." Eddy muttered.  
  
Ric glared at him. "You wouldn't answer any of my questions. Why not?"  
  
"It's like Eddy said. I can't tell you."  
  
The yelling continued for quite awhile. I was surprised my mother hadn't returned during all of this. I wonder where she went. Uncle Ric sat down on the couch his anger mostly spent after about an hour of yelling at both of us. Mostly it went in circles without Eddy giving out any information. I'd never seen the Legendary Nature Boy look so old in all the time I'd known him.  
  
"Just tell me where Chris is Eddy, I feel I'm owed that much," Ric said sounding very tired and very old.  
  
"I wish I could Ric, I really wish I could," Uncle Eddy said sounding like he was about to cry himself, something I'd never seen him do. "I can't. I'm sorry."  
  
With that Eddy turned to leave the apartment. He opened the door and more or less got shoved down in the same manner he'd gotten shoved down with Uncle Ric arrived. I saw a man in the doorway holding Athena by the crook of her arm.  
  
"Maybe I'd like some answers," Bret Hart said with fire in his eyes.  
  
Does everyone on this planet know where I live? 


	32. Oops?

Notes: Athena's POV. Half wrote by Jules half written by Dana. Last chapter was also a combined effort.  
  
Uncle Bret and I had been listening to the conversation for a few minutes before entering. After I told him about the tape, excluding my father, Uncle Bret got on the phone and made plane reservations for both of us. Not that I wanted to go but he hadn't exactly given me a choice. We didn't even tell Aunt Julie where we were going.   
  
I called Cam from a pay phone for directions to Danny's apartment since I've never been there. uncle Bret didn't give me a chance to warn Danny though. as soon as I hung up with Cam he told me we had to go.  
  
And it wasn't hard to find Danny's apartment. All the yelling was easy to hear. And it was easy to tell what they were yelling at. We waited until the door opened before making our presence known. I was glad to see Eddy hit the wall.  
  
A phone started to ring. Danny started to go to his phone but realized it wasn't that. Eddy went even more pale as he realized it was his cell phone.   
  
"Aren't you going to answer it?" Uncle Bret asked.  
  
"No. I'll just let the voice message get it." Eddy said taking it out to turn it off. Uncle Bret ripped it out of his hands "No don't! Eddy shouted, but it wad too late. Oh no. it could be dad or Chris Benoit not.  
  
"Hello? Who is this? Chavo? Yeah your uncle's right here." Uncle Bret said giving it to Eddy. I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it wasn't dad.  
  
"Hi Chavo. Yeah Danny's fine. Yeah it was. No, I'm not. Okay, try to keep her there a little longer. Bye." He turned off the phone before he turned to back to us. "Nancy's at OVW." He had a look of relief on his face.  
  
But there were still three angry people in the room.  
  
Uncle Bret looked at Eddy with anger still in his eyes. "I'm assuming Nancy's still in the dark about all of this.  
  
  
  
Uncle Bret was looking at Eddy, but it was Danny who answered: "No, she doesn't know that my dad's alive." I guess Danny got my message about Uncle Bret seeing both tapes after all and I'm pretty well assuming that either Ric Flair or Arn Anderson got one too, otherwise Me and Uncle Bret wouldn't have heard them yelling at Danny and Eddy when we got there.   
  
"You aren't going to tell her are you?" Uncle Bret asked  
  
Danny shook his head.  
  
  
  
A thought popped into my head: "Um correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Danny's mother remarried? I mean wouldn't it create a bigger mess than it is if she knew that her dead husband was actually alive? I mean it's not going to be a problem to tell my mother about my dad, since she never remarried but...." My voice trailed off when I noticed a look of fear and horror enter Eddy Guerrerro eyes.   
  
I noticed my uncle's face. I'd never seen it so white.  
  
  
  
"Owen's alive?" my Uncle whispered.  
  
My words suddenly came right back at me.  
  
Oh shit my brother always did say I had a big mouth.   
  
Then I say my Uncle fall to the floor for the first time in my life  
  
"UNCLE BRET!" I screamed  
  
"Danny call an ambulance," I vaguely heard Ric Flair say. 


	33. Mumblings and Reassurances

Notes: This is Danny's POV and written by Dana. I didn't give Jules enough credit. Was thinking I would add more then that till she found the Chavo phone call and typed it again and sent it =). She wrote practically all of last chapter.   
  
We were all sitting around in the hospital. Athena was in the examining room with her uncle. That left me with Uncle Eddy, Uncle Arn, and Uncle Ric. Oh this could be fun. Eddy was sitting as far away from them as possible.   
  
I hoped Bret was okay. I knew he had had a stroke many years ago. Finding out your brother was alive after nineteen years had to be a bigger shock then me finding out about my father.   
  
Ric and Arn look so pale. They haven't really said anything since we came here which is a good thing considering we are in a hospital. But I'm just waiting for the power keg to go off. Oh and I'm getting a headache on top of everything. That will not be a good thing when the yelling starts again.  
  
Eddy did break the silence. "Chavo said he'd try to keep your mother at OVW as long as possible by having her watch a little bit of the training but she'll be headed this way soon." We had left her a note saying where we were. Yeah I'm sure that'll go over well.   
  
Eddy got up and started pacing. Then I think he started talking to himself. "I'm going to kill him! How dare he steal the tapes and then send them out? What was he thinking?"  
  
"Eddy who?" I asked. He stopped pacing. He probably didn't know he had said that aloud.   
  
"Never mind Danny. Just thinking out loud."   
  
Shit now Ric and Arn are headed our way. I really hope they don't start yelling here. "You've known all these years that they are alive and you didn't tell anyone?" Arn asked fire burning in his eyes but he was keeping his voice down.   
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Why the hell didn't you tell anyone?" Uncle Ric said. Well one of them lost their temper.  
  
"Like I said Ric I couldn't for their safety and for the safety of their families. I can't go any further into it then that. There's already enough problems with you knowing what you already know."  
  
"Tell us where they are Eddy." Arn said   
  
"No. I can't and I won't do that. So just let it go."   
  
I think Eddy and I were both relieved when Athena walked out. She walked up to us. "He'll be okay. Just fainted from shock. They want to keep him for observation though." I released the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. That was good to hear.   
  
Ric and Arn started to follow Athena but I stopped Uncle Eddy. "I'm going up to the cabin. I think they should know. Cover for me? And they can stay at my apartment if they want."  
  
"Yeah okay but make sure no one follows you." He said and walked away. I headed out of the hospital doors. 


	34. Bonding Moment

Notes: Danny's POV it's Athena's next chapter. written by Dana  
  
Bonding Moment  
  
I arrived at the cabin later then I thought I would. And luckily, it wasn't too dark yet. I went to the cabin door and knocked. Erichson opened the door. "Danny what are you doing here?"  
  
I guess Uncle Eddy hadn't had a chance to tell them I was coming up. Oh well considering that everyone was probably watching him it would have been hard. "Something happened." I said. He opened the door.   
  
I looked around. Shane was helping Andrea with something. Dad wasn't in the main room. Owen looked like he was half-asleep on the couch. Marissa and Tammy were talking.   
  
"Uh guys?" I said everyone looked up. "Bret Hart, Arn Anderson, and Ric Flair all know dad and Owen are alive." I braced myself for the explosion I knew was about to take place.   
  
"What!" Erichson yelled and then said in a lower voice. "How did that happen?"  
  
"Ric got the Atlanta tape and Bret got both tapes. Then it kinda slipped out." I didn't think it was right to tell them that Athena let it slip out. She hadn't meant to.   
  
"And Eddy couldn't come up here because?" Shane asked.  
  
I bit my lip. Okay this was the real problem. "Um after Bret found out Owen was alive he kinda fainted."  
  
"Damn. How is he?" Owen asked worry evident in his voice.   
  
"He's fine. He just fainted from shock. He's staying at the hospital for observation. Eddy couldn't come up here because we knew Ric and Arn would be watching him."  
  
"Smart." Erichson muttered. "This has gone to hell quickly. Try not to tell more people Danny. We don't want the world to know what's going on."  
  
"Maybe I should go."   
  
"Not on those roads. It'll be dark soon." My dad spoke up. I turned around to find him standing in the doorway. He must have been listening in. "Stay here and go back tomorrow." The others nodded.   
  
I guess I should be grateful for the offer. It was a long drive back.   
  
***  
  
When I woke up the next morning, I felt awful. Not awful as I had about this situation but awful as in sick. You know it figured with everything going on that I'd get sick. I had slept on the couch and was surprised that I hadn't woken up sooner. I walked into the kitchen and found most everyone in there eating breakfast. The only ones who weren't there were Shane and his two children.  
  
I poured myself some Captain Crunch and sat down next to dad. Everyone finished eating and left the two of us alone. We talked about many things. He asked about my childhood and how my brother and sisters were. I did find it strange that he didn't ask me about mom. Didn't he care? I wondered. I looked at the clock thinking that maybe I should go back down soon. I mean I'd love to spend more time up here but I don't know how long Uncle Eddy can cover for me.   
  
"I should be getting back down to my apartment. Who knows what they've done to it." I said glancing at my watch. I stood up and regretted it. I had been doing a good job not showing the fact that I felt like crap until now.  
  
Dad noticed it right away. He put his hand on my forehead and shook his head. "You aren't going anywhere Daniel. You are burning up."  
  
It comforted me somehow. As I grew up Jason treated me like I was his own son but it wasn't the same thing as having your own real father. "Go lay down in my room. I'll call Eddy and tell him you won't be coming back today. I staggered and then my dad helped me to the room. And left the room for a few minutes. He came back with a thermometer. I tried not to roll my eyes.   
  
"102.4." He announced after he took it. "I missed this."  
  
"You missed me being sick?" I kidded.   
  
He chuckled. "No taking care of you. I thought of you and your brother and sisters every day. Eddy was always bringing me pictures of you and Tatem but he couldn't get me pictures of David and Megan. He kept me well informed of all four of you. But it wasn't the same. I know Owen felt the same way."  
  
I wonder if he knows that mom remarried. I'd have to ask Eddy. If he didn't know then now wouldn't be the time to tell him. I still don't think they are telling Athena and me everything. And I could see them all yelling at us for going to Kemper. Okay so it wasn't the brightest of ideas.   
  
Dad sat next to the bed. "You know fourteen years ago when I was released from the hospital I was scared. I had no idea who this Agent Erichson was but Eddy told me I'd be fine. No one told me Owen was there. Imagine my surprise to walk into this cabin and see Owen sitting on the couch reading the comics. I think I fainted. Then I about strangled Eddy for not telling me. But everything went smooth until Shane and Marissa needed somewhere to hide. Neither Owen nor I were too trusting of them right away. Vince burned us both. But Eddy told us what happened and we agreed to it. Almost can't imagine this place without them, Andi and Wes."  
  
"No one wants to tell me why Shane and Marissa came here."  
  
"It's better for them to tell you." He put a cool cloth on my forehead. "Try to get some sleep. We can talk later." He said kissing the top of my head. I felt like a child again. 


	35. Hospital Conversations

Notes: Athena's POV. This takes place in the same time frame that chapter 34 does. Another joint effort.  
  
I entered Uncle Bret's hospital room ahead of Arn and Ric. Uncle Bret was already settled and staring at the TV. He turned it off when I entered. "Hi Athena."  
  
"Hi. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Okay. Just still in shock I guess. All these years your father's been alive...I just almost don't believe it. But you saw him right?" I nodded. He just shook his head. "When I get out of here I want to go see him."  
  
"I know you do Bret but that's not possible." Eddy said entering the room. "Right now the best thing any of you can do is let things be. You let on that you know and this will all go up in smoke."  
  
Uncle Bret was glaring at him. I was tempted to but I knew Eddy was right. But dad and Uncle Bret do need to see each other. Too bad, it can't be arranged.  
  
"Hey where's Danny?" Ric asked. I looked around. I hadn't realized he wasn't there. Hmm wonder where he went.  
  
"He had to clean his apartment and then run some errands. He should be back later tonight."  
  
"I'll be right back." Ric said. "I need to call Beth about something." He left the room and Arn followed.  
  
"Eddy? Ric? Bret? What are you all doing here? I got the note." I turned around and saw a dark haired woman with strands of grey standing there.   
  
"Hi Nancy. Bret had a little fainting spells when we all checked on him earlier." Eddy quickly supplied. "You see everything you needed to see at OVW?"  
  
That was when I figured out who she was. She was obviously Danny's mom. He had her eyes I noticed.   
  
"Yeah. Maybe I spoke too soon about his training. If it's something he truly wants to do, then okay. Just don't let him anywhere near the WWE Eddy."  
  
Too late for that I thought.  
  
"Where is Danny anyway?" She asked.  
  
"He had to run some errands. He said to tell you he'd call you later."  
  
"Okay. I had wanted to apologize for exploding earlier. But it was a shock to find out he went to a WWE show the other night."  
  
Oh no. I sank down further in the chair. Lucky for me, though, Uncle Bret and Eddy were all staring at Nancy. This was not going to be good.  
  
"That kid's going to drive me loco one of these days." Eddy muttered. "And he's not even my kid."  
  
"The problem with being an uncle huh Eddy?" Uncle Bret said. "To a WWE show? I'm glad Athena hadn't thought of going with him."  
  
Oh boy. That was something I definitely didn't need to tell him. I wonder how much worse his reaction might have been BEFORE he learned Dad was alive. Of course we haven't had a chance to discuss THAT one either with Danny's mom coming in.  
  
Nancy's beeper went off. "I have to go. Hope you feel better Bret." I let out a sigh of relief as she left the room. But I knew that Danny was in trouble and luckily they don't know I was there. Though I do feel bad for Danny.  
  
***  
  
I spent the night at the hospital on a cot a nurse had rolled in. Eddy, Ric, and Arn went back to Danny's apartment since Uncle Bret was doing well. When I woke up that morning I saw Eddy standing in the doorway. He had two coffees with him. He signaled me to come over. I walked over and he handed me one of the coffees.  
  
We walked away from the doorway. "Danny's staying at the cabin. He's got the flu or something. He's lucky I don't wring his neck for going to Kemper. I probably will when he's well enough." He sighed. "I'm not even sure how to explain why he's still not back from his errands."  
  
"Just don't make a crack about him deciding to go and see Smackdown." I said with a grin. He glared at me.   
  
I walked back into the hospital room and found Uncle Bret awake. "Okay now let's talk." Uncle Bret said. "Where's Owen?"  
  
"I can't tell you. They are safe there." Eddy said.  
  
"I need to see my brother damn it!" Uncle Bret said barely keeping his voice down.   
  
"I know. But right now you can't. Just know he's fine." Eddy said.  
  
I watched the exchange not saying anything. But the glare that Uncle Bret was giving Eddy was fierce. I just hope a nurse or doctor doesn't enter right now.   
  
I did know one thing though. If I hadn't opened my mouth last night this wouldn't have happened.  
  
Me and my big mouth.  
  
"I can't believe you kept this all a secret for 19 years Eddy! How could you do that to everyone?"  
  
"Like I said. It needed to be done. Because we all knew that if Vince knew he'd try again and/or go after your family and Chris'. This wasn't just a spur of the moment thing Bret. They knew what they were doing."  
  
"So I guess that goes for us?" Ric asked from the doorway.   
  
Great. This was going to be a long day.  
  
***  
  
End of chapter? 


	36. A Much Needed Talk

Notes: This skips ahead a couple of days. Still Athena's POV.  
  
I walked into Uncle Bret's hospital room with a smile on my face. Uncle Bret was going to be released tomorrow. He was glad about that. He told me that he knew Aunt Julie would be worried since he hadn't told her he'd be here that long.   
  
I was surprised by who's all in the room with Uncle Bret. Ric, Arn, and Eddy were which wasn't a total surprise but so was Tammy. Now I may have forgiven her but I knew Uncle Bret would have a hard time.  
  
"Hi Athena." Uncle Bret greeted me. I gave him a hug.   
  
"How are you feeling this morning?" I asked him stepping back a little.   
  
"Great. You remember Tammy Sytch don't you?"  
  
"Yes but its Tammy Erichson now." I said. Tammy turned pale.   
  
"You got remarried?" Bret asked her.   
  
"Thirteen years ago. You've met Michael before Bret. At the trial? I married him after I...never mind. We just became closer during that and he proposed and I said yes."  
  
"Well congratulations. But you didn't tell us about it? So soon after..." He stopped talking thinking I never knew about that.  
  
"I already know Uncle Bret."  
  
"You already know? But I thought...wait a second. I remember where I saw him last. He was in Atlanta. I saw him on tape." Oh no. Tammy really paled at that. Eddy was muttering something in Spanish. "You knew about it too didn't you? You knew about Chris and Owen!"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Tammy sounded like she was trying to keep her voice steady. "They are dead..."  
  
"We know Tammy." Ric spoke up for the first time.  
  
Tammy turned to look at me but I couldn't meet her eye. She looked at Eddy who simply nodded. She sighed. "Same guy." She said. "Bret you have to know I couldn't tell any of you. Hell I wasn't even supposed to find out but I did. Bret I wish I could have told you."   
  
"Get out." He told her firmly.  
  
"Bret..."  
  
"Just get out Tammy." He said. She left without saying a word. I should remind him some time about what she told me. But I couldn't tell him then. Eddy went after Tammy.   
  
Ric and Arn started talking I heard Arn remind Ric about catching a plane back to North Carolina. They wished Uncle Bret well and left. I was going to talk to Uncle Bret about Tammy then but the doctor came in and I stepped out of the room.   
  
I saw Eddy was on the phone talking to the cabin. That was really risking it I thought. But he probably needed to tell Erichson about what Uncle Bret realized. Now it sounds like he's talking to dad.  
  
I turned back around to go back in and check on my Uncle when I saw him starting to walk out of the room. He headed for Eddy. "Eddy!" I said hoping to get his attention.  
  
He looked up to see Bret walking over and quickly ended the call. Bret grabbed the phone out of his hand before he could put it away. "Bret don't. You can't do that!" He said because Bret was hitting the redial button.  
  
We could only watch helplessly as he called the cabin.  
  
"Owen?" Uncle Bret said. Eddy and I moved in quickly in case he fainted again. This was too much. I wish I could call Aunt Julie. She could help Uncle Bret through this. But I can't. Too many people know already! 


	37. A Surprise Visitor

Notes: I thought this chapter could be short because 38 is going to be quite long. Well perhaps not extremely long but it won't be short. Yeah I'm babbling. Oh and something about Dayquil in this chapter: I have a cold I can sympathize with what I did to poor Danny. Jules had to correct several things in 35. And I haven't taken any cold medicine but when I do, I am really loopy. So be glad this wasn't written when I was loopy. Another joint effort. But 38 is all Jules' doing.  
  
I was stretched out on the couch at the insistence of my father. My dad's making me soup! I think he's trying to make up for the fourteen years he wasn't in my life. I do feel better today not well enough to go jump into a wrestling ring and I still have a fever. But any more soup and I might go crazy. My dad's not a bad cook it's just that even sick people need real food.  
  
Owen's sitting on the other couch reading the newspaper when the phone rings. Erichson answers it and talks for awhile before handing it to me saying its Eddy.  
  
"Hi."  
  
'How are you feeling? Tammy said you are sick.'  
  
"Flu but I'll be fine in a couple days. How's Bret."  
  
'He's doing better. He gets out tomorrow. I was calling to check on you. Can I talk to Owen?'   
  
I handed it to Owen. They talked for a few minutes but then Owen said something weird. "Eddy? You still there?" He hung up and looked to be getting ready to call Eddy back when the phone rang. "Eddy? Oh shit. Hi Bret."  
  
Oh no that couldn't be good. He took the phone and went into a back bedroom to talk to his older brother who he hadn't spoken to in 19 years. That I bet is going to be emotional.   
  
***  
  
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know is hearing the roar of a car. I sit up, look out the window, and see a Porsche coming to a stop outside the cabin. Apparently, Tammy Lynn Sytch Erichson likes life in only one speed: Fast. It shows in her driving.   
  
I looked at my watch. I had been asleep most of the day. Dayquil does that to me. It's supposed to be non-drowsy but a spoonful of that and I'm done for the day.   
  
I think Michael was about to go out to help his wife bring in the cabin supplies when we heard, "How the Fuck did you get in that trunk!"   
  
Michael raced out the door; I looked out the window again.   
  
  
  
"Uh, Dad?" I called out. "I think you might wanna look at this."   
  
My dad looked out the window and I think his face blanched a little. And we all worried about Bret Hart doing something stupid.   
  
Dad walked out the door and onto the porch. I followed him.  
  
"Ric," Dad said locking eyes on Ric Flair for the first time in 14 years. 


	38. Trouble at OVW

I decided to come down to OVW and get some training done to keep my mind off of Uncle Bret, Dad and what I'd stupidly done. Me and my big mouth. The good thing is Uncle Bret's going to be okay. The bad side is that now Eddy and Dad have some explaining to do about why Uncle Bret was never told. Boy, I don't want to be in the room for THAT conversation. 

Speaking of conversations, by the time I left, Uncle Bret's impromptu conversation with Dad seemed to be going well. Uncle Bret was even smiling. I don't think I've ever seen my uncle smile that brightly or have the twinkle in his eye that he had when I left. Made me realize just what an impact my Dad's 'death' had on my uncle.

I'm glad I thought to redye my hair red after I got back. I needed to blow off some steam and didn't really need questions as to why my hair was blonde. Luckily Cam and Eddy were the only ones there at the moment and Cam knew who I really was so I could talk, well, as freely as I could given the circumstances to him, at least about my Mom's and brother's reaction to my training and me and Danny's boneheaded decision to attend RAW.

Cam and I were talking in the ring while practicing some wrestling holds when a voice rang out. We both froze at the familiarity of it.

"Well, well, well, those are some pretty nice moves you both have. Especially you Ms. Sierra." Stephanie McMahon Helmsley's obnoxious voice said.

"Or should I say, Ms. Hart?"

I froze as Cam put a protective arm around me. How did the bitch know who I was? How'd she find out?

Stephanie walked into the ring and stepped in close to me so that we were both meeting each other's eyes. "Your Aunt Ellie was right. You DO have your Dad's eyes."

Shit! I'd completely forgot about Ellie's 'offer' to pull strings to get me into the WWF. How'd she figured out what I wrestled under at OVW? Did the cameras catch me at Kemper?

"I don't recall telling my aunt my wrestling alias, Ms. Helmsley." I replied as politely as I could. No need to create more problems and tear her head off as much as I wanted to.

"It was easy to figure out once I got Ellie's call and reviewed old tapes of OVW for the last year. Plus, last week's RAW. Danny looked so spooked after his sister showed up."

So THAT'S what was bugging Danny. More than likely it was his sister Megan who was at RAW because what he told me of his half sister Tatem, I can't imagine Tatem ever attending a wrestling event unless she grudgingly was supporting Danny. Ever.

"That's all well and good, but why are you hear "Aunt" Stephanie?" Cam said, barely disguising the contempt he had in a woman he'd been taught to call aunt. I wondered what he would think about his aunt, his uncle Hunter and his dad if he knew just WHAT they'd done for the past 19 years.

"Cam, dear," Stephanie said in this sickenly sweet voice. "I came to talk to the WWF's newest Diva?"

"Excuse me?" I said. "I wasn't aware of accepting a job with your company?"

Stephanie laughed. It was a revolting sound. "I'm sure that you would agree that it's a moot point to object. Especially since I'm sure your mother and your uncle wouldn't be very pleased to know where you went last Monday, since I gather that they probably don't approve of what your doing already. Might as well go all the way and be a Diva."

Cam stiffened and so did I. I knew blackmail when I heard it. Problem is, it wouldn't work.

"Well, my mother isn't very pleased your right. And I'm sure Uncle Bret wouldn't be happy I went to Kemper Monday night. However, since he supports what I'm doing, I'm sure that my uncle would eventually forgive my ill fated decision to accompany a friend in satisfying his curiosity."

Stephanie had a look of pure shock on her face.

"Bret supports you wrestling?" Stephanie stammered out.

I fought to keep the smirk off my face. I'd thrown the bitch off her game and all of us, Cam included knew it.

"Yes, surprising as it may seem. He even defended me to my mother when she tried to strong-arm me into going to Stamford. He did make me promise one thing though."

"Oh, and what is that?" Stephanie asked with a suspicious glare in her eyes. Good she should be.

"That I never go to the WWF," this time I couldn't keep the smirk off my face. "I'm leaning towards WCW. At least they treat their women wrestlers as more than just pieces of meat."

I just barely held onto my laughter as Stephanie got a murderous look upon her face. It was just too priceless to deny the woman once known as the Billion Dollar Slut what she wanted.

Then it was her turn to smirk and I wondered why.

Stephanie wasted no time in giving me her answer: "Maybe it IS best that you go to WCW. Wouldn't want anything to happen to you like what tragically happened to your father, now would we?"

I got right up into the pampered bitch's face "Stephanie?"

"Hm?"

"I also have my father's temper," and with that I kicked her legs out from under her and she fell on her fat ass with a plop. Then I put her in the sharpshooter. I wondered if Uncle Bret or Dad ever felt like doing that to Vince? I held it so tight not even Cameron could get me off her. It took Eddy coming out to finally pry my grip of her legs.

Eddy started swearing in Spanish wondering what the hell was going on. I'm sure he wasn't happy to see Stephanie at OVW or that I put her in the Sharpshooter.

Stephanie was limping out of the ring clutching at her tailbone.

"YOU BITCH! YOU'LL PAY JUST LIKE EVERY DAMN MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY THAT'S CROSSED US WILL PAY!" and with that she stormed out.

I was shaking. Even if I hadn't seen the tape with Vince, even if I didn't know my father was alive and Vince had tried to have him killed, Stephanie's last words were as good as confirmation of 20 years of heartache in my mind.

"What the hell is going on!" Eddy asked me and Cam.

"What did she mean? What did she mean by you paying and you suffering your Dad's fate?" Cam asked me softly.

"What!" Eddy exclaimed.

"She tried to threaten me into joining the WWF. She said maybe it was good that I went to WCW so I didn't suffer Dad's fate." I could barely whisper I was too traumatized by Stephanie's shouting threat.

Eddy let out a stream of Spanish curses. "Cam, I'm getting her out of here. Don't let ANYBODY but Chavo and D'Lo know what's going on. Danny's sick so he won't be in for a while."

Cam nodded. He seemed to understand that the confrontation with Stephanie was serious and was a sign of something more that was going on. Poor Cam. I felt sorry for him.

"Come on, let's get you to your uncle," Eddy said herding me out of the ring.

* * *

My Uncle had just gotten off the phone with my Dad for the second time that day when we had arrived. I guess Eddy figured there was no sense in keeping the number a secret from my Uncle any longer. Which maybe a good thing. When me and Eddy showed back up at the hospital, my uncle looked about 10 years younger than when I left.

"I have half a mind to kill Ellie right now," Uncle Bret said. Fire in his eyes similar to what he had right before I opened my big mouth about Dad being alive.

"What do we do about Stephanie?" Eddy asked. "She made it damn clear that she'd make Athena pay for that Sharpshooter. Damned if she won't run to Daddy to make that threat a reality too."

If anything my Uncle's eyes got colder. "Does she know I'm here?" Uncle Bret asked.

I shook my head. "I doubt it but it wouldn't take much for her to figure out I suppose."

"Then we'll say that I traveled down to see you perform at OVW and I got a little faint from the traveling. They'd probably admit me no matter how I fainted."

Eddy looked at Uncle Bret. "That's risking it, Bret. It could get the McMahons suspicious."

Uncle Bret gave Eddy a hard look. "I haven't traveled out of Canada in nearly sixteen years Eddy. It's a viable excuse. And I'll be damned if Stephanie Helmsley's going to issue threats and carry them out. Vince knows damn good and well I won't stand for it. Hopefully Vince has retained enough sense to keep his daughter away from my niece while I'm here." Uncle Bret then looked at me. "Watch your back okay?"

I nodded. Then there was a knock on the door. Arn Anderson popped his head in the door.

"Arn, I thought you and Ric were headed back to North Carolina?" Eddy asked.

"Well, there's a problem with that," Arn explained. "Ric never got on the plane and I haven't seen hide nor hair of him in a good couple of hours."

"But why?" I asked. "What could he accomplish by staying here? He can't get to where my Dad and Danny's dad is."

Uncle Bret, Eddy, and Arn all exchanged glances. "You don't think?" Eddy started to ask.

Arn Anderson sighed. "There's a good reason why in 40 years, even retired, Nobody's ever taken the title of Dirtiest Player in the Game away from the Nature Boy Ric Flair."

That was when Eddy's cellphone began to ring. Oh God, please tell me Ric Flair didn't do what we all think he might've done. Eddy picked it up and listened to who I think was Danny on the line. Before he hung up I caught one or two words in Spanish that all the developmental wrestlers have come to recognize as curse words.

Eddy sighed. "Ric's there." I didn't need to know what Eddy meant by There. Ric had somehow made his way to the cabin. "Apparently he spied Tammy Lynn getting Supplies and snuck into her trunk." I winced. How the hell could a wrestler, even a former and aged wrestler like Ric Flair could fit into the tiny trunk of Tammy Lynn Erichson's Porsche I couldn't even begin to imagine. Arn had a shocked but not surprised look on his face and Uncle Bret had a coldness in his yes at the mention of Tammy.

"What know?" I asked quietly.

Eddy seemed torn between doing what he felt was right and doing what was ultimately inevitable. Finally he sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Get your things all of you. I'll see about getting Bret released from the hospital. I'll take you to where Owen and Chris are," Eddy said in a resigned tone. I wonder how hard it was to know something only a select few have known for 20 years and then seemingly have the whole world find out. I decided I never wanted to know.


	39. Reunions

Notes: This chapter has both Danny and Athena's POV's. It's shown so you won't be confused.  
  
*Danny*  
  
I watched dad and Ric Flair talk from a bit of a distance. It was somewhat chilly out and I knew my father would probably tell me to go inside.   
  
"Chris how could you do this to everyone?" Uncle Ric demanded right away. Yep this would be the perfect spot to hear it.   
  
"It was kind of hard not to when I could barely remember who I was from how concussed I was. But I knew it was the only way to keep everyone safe. Ric they could have gone after my family if they knew Goldberg hadn't killed me."  
  
"I just can't believe that no one else has found out about this in the almost 20 years it's been happening."  
  
My dad looked uncomfortable for a second. "Well, Eddy's pretty good at keeping things a secret. The last people to find out before two weeks ago were Shane and Marissa. And I thought Vince was sick before that."  
  
"Shane and Marissa are here?" Ric asked. Oh yeah we didn't exactly tell them about Shane and Marissa I guess.   
  
"Yeah. I'm surprised you hadn't found out. They are, like the rest of us, hiding from Vince. But it's their story to tell not mine." He sat down on the porch steps. He winced as he moved his right arm.  
  
"That arm still bugging you after all these years?" Ric asked concern etching across his face.  
  
"Arthritis. Guess it comes with breaking the elbow twice." I didn't know that. I'd have to ask dad how that happened. "So how the hell did you fit in Tammy's trunk? That's a sports car with a very small trunk."  
  
"Don't I know it. She didn't close it all the way I opened it and got in. I'm still a little stiff." He shrugged his own shoulders. They were quiet for a few minutes. "Chris the arm was it..."  
  
"We aren't quite sure but no we don't think it was. We are sure Paul hadn't meant to throw me into the ring post that hard. I guess I didn't mind that much that Austin got the title instead of me. It worked better even if it all ended in tragedy." Dad seemed to quickly change the subject. "But you got another world title reign. You know Hunter was really screwed up. Heck I wasn't surprised he didn't try to sabotage that match. He wanted the title that bad."  
  
"Idol worship. He did get it you know? He won the vacant title from a company that was just about finished. But if it's true, Hunter really is fucked up. Did he really marry Stephanie to get the major push?"  
  
"More like the company but I guess when he found out I was getting the world title it sent him over the deep end. He thought it would be his. He was the one that wanted me dead."  
  
"I'll kill him!" Ric yelled.   
  
I was learning more by eavesdropping then I do talking to them.  
  
***  
  
I was still sitting on the porch swing when Uncle Eddy, Bret, Uncle Arn, and Athena drove up. Uncle Ric and dad were talking in normal tones now on the other side of the porch. They were catching up. I think Ric finally realized that there was no other choice.  
  
Everyone got out. Dad jumped to his feet. Bret stopped in his tracks when he saw them. It must be hard to see a friend after fourteen years. They just stared at each other. I went into the cabin to find Owen.  
  
I found Owen playing a board game with Wes and Andi. He looked up when I entered the room. "Bret's here."  
  
"Eddy brought them up?" Owen sounded surprised. He jumped out of his seat and practically flew out of the cabin.   
  
I went back out also. I was about to watch the reunion when I sneezed. My dad turned around and said, "Daniel get back in the cabin before you get pneumonia or something." Once a dad always a dad I guess.  
  
***  
  
*Athena's POV*  
  
We watched Danny go into the cabin. Uncle Bret and Chris stared at each other for what seemed like a long time. Uncle Bret started walking towards him. But instead of yelling at him like he had Eddy and the rest of us, he hugged Chris.  
  
"Bret." I heard dad say. Dad was standing on the porch looking at all of us. Danny was standing behind him. When he sneezed his dad told him to go back into the cabin. But I don't think anyone really paid attention to that except Danny  
  
Then dad and Uncle Bret hugged for the longest time. I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other but I saw tears streaming down dad's face.   
  
Shane came out of the cabin. "Hey Eddy! Danny said you were..." he stopped when he saw all of us. I could visibly see him gulp. "Uh hi Bret."   
  
He looked nervous. I could guess why. Shane is a McMahon. I've heard my mother; and uncles all talk bad about the McMahon's. But Uncle Bret did say positive things about Shane. But who knows how he'll act now that he knows everything. Or almost everything I think? This might not be pretty.  
  
Dad and Uncle Bret separated. Uncle Bret looked at Shane. "Your father's that sick huh?"  
  
"Unfortunately. And Stephanie's just about as bad. What my dad did twenty-one years ago I didn't know. I didn't know anything until I got to the cabin."  
  
There was silence for a few seconds. Then Chris broke the silence. "It's a good thing he takes after his mother." There were a few chuckles.  
  
We all headed inside. 


	40. Tattoo Talk

Tattoo Talk  
  
I was lying on the couch when everyone came back in. I feigned sleep interested to hear what they had to say.   
  
"He's a good kid." I heard dad say. "Bit of a temper though."  
  
"Eddy said he got it from you." Shane said. There was a lot of laughter. I wasn't sure if I should be insulted by that or not.  
  
I sat up to make room for others to sit down. Oh boy this place was going to be crowded. Andi and Wes moved the game onto the floor. I wonder where everyone's going to sleep. I sure hope Tammy bought enough supplies.  
  
"What's that?" Andi asked pointing at me. I looked around trying to figure out what she as talking about. Then I figured it out. She was pointing at my foot, or more specifically, my ankle. Now everyone was looking.  
  
"It looks like a tattoo." Sad said. "Of a Pegasus?" He looked at me. His face was a mixture of surprise and maybe pride?  
  
"It is. Levi gave it to me as a sort of late 16th birthday present when I was in Florida." I chuckled at the memory of that present. "Levi worked in a tattoo parlor when he was in college and offered to give me one for free." I turned to dad. "I knew you had wrestled as the Wild Pegasus and Pegasus Kid. I thought it would be a nice tribute to you."  
  
"I bet your mother, Dave, and Jason didn't think so."   
  
I was surprised. I had no idea that dad knew mom remarried. I was pretty sure he meant Dave as in Levi's father.  
  
"I was grounded a month because according to mom, I should have known better. Oh and trying to explain it to Trevor wasn't easy either. I had to tell him it was my favorite mythical creature, though I'm sure he saw through it. Heck I could have gotten my nose pierced last year and she probably would have reacted better."  
  
"It probably scared her that you knew that much about the sport. If Athena had done something like that when she was sixteen, Martha probably would have reacted the same way." Bret said.   
  
"I want a tattoo too!" Wes spoke up then. We all laughed.   
  
"Not until your eighteen Wesley." Marissa said. "And maybe not even then."  
  
"Ah mom!" Wes said and then went back to playing the game.  
  
I watched him and his sister. They have only lived in this cabin and probably don't even know why. To them life was good and nothing bad could happen to them. Hopefully their grandfather never finds them. Even though I hadn't heard the story of why Shane and Marissa went into hiding, I knew something bad must have happened.  
  
***  
  
Later that night I was sound asleep on the couch when I felt a cool hand on my forehead. I woke up and saw my dad looking down at me. He put a cloth on my forehead but I didn't go back to sleep.   
  
"Chris what are you going to do when this is all over?" Uncle Ric asked. I had wondered that myself.  
  
There was silence. "Been here fourteen years Ric I don't know. Not go back home that's for sure."  
  
"Why not? I figure seeing Danny again after all these years must bring back memories."  
  
"I can't do that to Nancy. Eddy told me that she and Jason are very happy together and they adopted a boy. That kid would be caught in the middle of this. I just can't do that."  
  
"Chris you've got 3 children and not to mention Tatem. Tatem deserves to know just as much as Megan and David and you are going to just stay in hiding because you don't want to break up Nancy's marriage?"  
  
"Look Ric I've been hiding for fourteen years to protect my family. If Vince had known that I survived who knows what would have, happened? I know Owen feels the same way. It's not saying I don't want to see Nancy, Megan, David, and Tatem again, I just can't."  
  
"Come on Chris why not?" Uncle Arn asked. I hadn't even known he was in the room. "When this is all over she'll probably know anyway."  
  
"I just want to leave things alone. I've already caused problems with Daniel finding out." Dad said.  
  
I wanted to say something but I was more interested in what they were saying. But I wonder what he meant by he caused problems with me finding out.  
  
"He seems happier then I've ever seen him." Uncle Arn said.   
  
"Yeah but he's got Jason."   
  
Whoa. Where'd that come from? I decided to let them know I had been listening. "Yeah but he wasn't you."  
  
It was quiet for a few seconds. "I just can't." Dad said and I heard him, or someone, walk away.  
  
"Don't worry about him Danny." Uncle Ric said. "This has to be tough on him."   
  
And then I was left alone in the room. 


	41. Sad Goodbye

A few days later, Danny and I played with Wes and Andi outside. It was a warm day. Danny was Simon during Simon Says and did everything that didn't take up a lot of energy since he was still sick. The two kids had a blast. To them we were two big kids since we were a lot closer to their age then they were used to. It was nice though. While we pushed the two kids on the swings, Danny and I got to talk.   
  
"I know that Eddy brought you up here because of Stephanie but I'm ready to go back to Louisville and train. I'm going stir crazy up here. And it's so crowded. Besides if we stay up here too long people might get suspicious."  
  
"I know." I said and pushed Andi higher when she asked. I was worried about Stephanie but Danny made a good point. The longer we stayed up here, the more people might start wondering where we are though I'm sure Chavo and D-Lo are covering for us at OVW.  
  
"Wes!" I heard Shane call. "Nap time!" Wes got out of the swing and went inside.  
  
I chuckled. "My nephew Tim hates to take naps."  
  
"Misha's pretty good about it but David's kids throw a fit even at the mention of a nap. Mom said I was difficult at that age. Tantrums at everything. She always joked that she felt like throwing a party when I outgrew it." He looked wistful for a moment.  
  
"Yeah well you had lost your father, or rather thought you did. I'm sure I was no picnic for my mother."  
  
"You sure weren't." We turned around to see dad, Uncle Bret, and Chris headed our way. "But it was to be expected." Uncle Bret had spoken.  
  
"Hey Andi why don't you go inside?" Dad suggested.  
  
"You going to have a grown ups talk?" She asked.  
  
"You got it." Chris said. "We'll be inside in a little bit. Why don't you help your mother?" She went inside without another word. Chris chuckled. "They are used to these grown up talks." He explained. "We do need to talk though."  
  
"Eddy has been getting calls from Nancy and he said Chavo told him that Martha's been calling him. They are bout curious about your whereabouts." Uncle Bret said.  
  
"Chavo, D-Lo, and Eddy can only keep telling them excuses for awhile." Dad explained. "It's not that we want any of you to leave because we'd love for you to stay."  
  
"Its just maybe you should go back up to Louisville for awhile." Chris said. "You can come back up and you do have the phone number here. But please use it sparingly."  
  
"Athena and I were talking about this. We know we should go back to Louisville and back to training." Danny said.  
  
Then Chris and Danny wandered away to talk leaving me with dad and Uncle Bret. "It's been great having you both here." Dad said. "I never thought it would happen. Not after all these years." Dad actually had tears in his eyes.  
  
I hugged him and then Uncle Bret hugged him. "We'll be back dad. This isn't goodbye."  
  
Dad kissed me on the forehead. "I know it's not. I look forward to you coming back."   
  
Why did it sound as if he wasn't telling the truth? They weren't planning on packing up and leaving were they?   
  
Please say I'm just imagining things.  
  
Dad and Uncle Bret were talking. "So what are you going to do when this is all over?"   
  
"I heard Chris answer that question earlier. I don't know honestly. It's different for me then it is for Chris. Nancy remarried and Martha didn't but I might not go home either. I honestly don't know."  
  
I thought now would be a good time to ask the question. "Are you guys leaving?"  
  
Dad turned around and had a strange look on his face. "No of course not. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Just a feeling I got." I told him breathing a sigh of relief. I'm glad they weren't leaving. Not after I found him.  
  
"How are you feeling Bret? Eddy had told me about the stroke. Wish I could have been there."  
  
"I'm doing better. A lot better now that I know you're alive. I just can't believe after all of these years..."  
  
"There were times I wish I had been home. For dad and mom's funerals, Oje and Athena's graduations, Oje's wedding and it goes on."  
  
I realized something then. I had the photo album in my bag. I went back inside to grab the album from my bag. When I came back out I found dad and Uncle Bret sitting on the porch swing. I handed dad the photo album.  
  
Dad looked through it but didn't say much as Uncle Bret and I explained the different pictures. Dad had tears streaming down his face by the end of it.   
  
"Sorry to interrupt guys but we've got to go." Eddy said opening the cabin door. He went over to Chris and Danny.  
  
Now I had tears in my eyes. This had been a great moment interrupted by the reality that we weren't the ones in hiding. 


	42. Snake at OVW

Notes: Danny's POV and a couple days later.   
  
I walked into OVW early. It was about time I went back to training. Still didn't feel great but I wasn't as sick. The training area was half full I saw as I walked into it.   
  
"Danny I need to talk to you about something." Someone said from behind me. I turned around to see Chad.  
  
"What do you want Chad?" I asked trying to not sound too bored.  
  
"I was asked to give you a message. Vince wants to talk to you right now."  
  
"Well I don't want to talk to him. Now excuse me I've got to get changed." I turned away from him.  
  
"Danny I'm sorry to hear that." He said.   
  
I thought that was a strange statement. I hadn't gone far when a pain went through my head. "Vince wants to see you Danny boy." He said right before I passed out.  
  
***  
  
When I get out of this office, I'm going to kill Chad. I'm sure he thought he was buttering up to Vince but he has no clue what he's just done. But Uncle Eddy will find out about this. I just have to hang in there. Stupid ropes. Guess Vince doesn't trust me. But then again, Athena did put the sharpshooter on Stephanie. And I know darn well that it's Vince. His collection of ugly suits is in plain sight. There is a bright side. Maybe I can pass on the flu that I still have. So I get to sit here tied to a chair and wait. I get to wait to talk to the man who wanted my father to die fourteen years ago.  
  
I was almost relived when the door finally did open. He walked in. He was different then he was when I asked questions about my father before. He sat at his desk and looked at me. I had to fight the urge to spit in his face.   
  
"Daniel I know you are wondering why you are tied to a chair."  
  
"The thought had crossed my mind." I had to play it cool. Couldn't tip my hand and let him know what I knew.  
  
"Well your girlfriend went after my daughter when she was offered a contract with the WWE."  
  
"Sierra's not my girlfriend."  
  
"Ah but you do know it was her. I know you turned down Stephanie and HHH in Kemper. I wonder what your mother would think if she knew, you were at Kemper. I'm sure she'd react better then if it was Philips Arena." I wish my hands weren't tied behind me. I'd love to knock that smug look off his face.  
  
"Can you get to the point Vince? I've got other things to do."   
  
"I just wanted to offer you a contract to the WWE is all."  
  
"You kidnapped me to offer me a contract to the WWE?" Does he think I'm really that stupid? "You could have offered it to me over the phone and still got the same answer."  
  
"I also heard that your apartment has been filled with a lot of people lately."  
  
"My apartment Vince. There's no rule that says in my apartment contract that I can only have so many people there. And how the hell would you know that?"  
  
"Just things I've been hearing. Just tell me what I want to know and you can go. Why are you snooping around for information on your father."  
  
"Oh come on Vince. I know your son left a long time ago but some son's are curious about their father's." He smacked me across the face. "I just wanted to know how he died is all."  
  
The door swung open. "What the hell are you doing here?" Vince yelled.  
  
Don't let it be dad! I thought as I turned my head around to see who had entered the room. Not my dad but someone I thought wouldn't show up.  
  
Shane McMahon was standing there looking pissed. He untied me. "Kidnapping Vince? I know murder was something you loved to do but kidnapping?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked. That's when I saw three videos in Shane's hands. Three? I thought there was only two!  
  
Wait if there was a tape with Vince shaking someone's hand about Owen's death...damn it I need to see that third tape!  
  
"Come on Danny we are getting out of here."  
  
"Not so fast Shane." Vince said. "I want to know what's on those tapes."  
  
"Just old wrestling tapes." Shane lied. I know no one wanted Vince to know there were tapes right now.  
  
I could see Vince was trying to figure out why Shane was here. This was going to raise even more suspicions but I'm glad he's here.  
  
"Come on." Shane said and we both went to leave.  
  
"I'm going to find out what's going on Shane." Vince swore. "And then you'll be sorry you showed up again." 


	43. Mysterious Phone Call

I entered OVW and immediately noticed Danny wasn't there. Maybe he was still sick with the flu but I thought he said he would be here today.  
  
Eddy came in and quickly surveyed everyone. I think he noticed what I had. "Anyone seen Daniel Benoit?"  
  
"He was here earlier." D-Lo called from his spot watching two people in the ring.   
  
"Yeah I thought I saw him talking to Chad." Erica said.   
  
We all turned to look at Chad who wouldn't look anyone in the eye. "Thompson have you seen Daniel or not?" Chavo asked.  
  
"Uh yeah. I uh told him that uh Vince wanted to see him. But Danny didn't really want to talk to him so I uh..."  
  
Please tell me he didn't do what I think he did.  
  
"You what?" Eddy asked coming closer. Chad wisely backed up.   
  
"I um hit him in the head..."  
  
"You what?" Eddy yelled. He actually grabbed Chad by the throat. "Where is he!"  
  
"Vince's office downtown."  
  
Eddy let go and walked out of the room.   
  
Cameron went over and punched him. I know Cam didn't know what was going on but he and Chad really hate each other.  
  
I slipped out of the room and walked to Eddy's office. I opened the door and stepped inside.  
  
"Damn it what the hell is going on? You are supposed to be keeping an eye on Vince! Yeah I just found out! No I wasn't here when it happened. You are the one who...oh so you found out after he was dragged into his office. And you didn't call me sooner? You really know how to screw stuff up. What do I mean? You sent out the tapes! Don't play innocent with me you had access to the tapes! Yeah okay. How is he? Out cold? Where is it? Shane would know? Yeah you're really helpful. Anything happens to him and I'll hold you responsible. Whatever. Call me later." He slammed the phone down.  
  
Just as I was about to say something, he picked the phone up again. "Michael we've got a problem! Vince has Danny. No I am not kidding! One of the people at OVW helped Vince do it! Yeah I called him first. No help at all, except that he said Shane knows where it is. Next time I see him I'll knock his head off." There was a pause. "He's what? No you can't send him. I know you know that! You have to be kidding. Yeah he's the one that could do it. But that's still risking it. Tell him he's at Vince's office in Kentucky." He turned towards me. "Shane's coming."  
  
"What was that about?" I asked.   
  
"Nothing. Why don't you go back to training? Shane will take care of it." Eddy said. "Tell Chavo I'll be in my office."  
  
I don't think I'll be able to concentrate. What would Vince do to Danny? And who was the first person he was talking to? 


	44. The Third Tape

We drove around pointlessly for a long time until we were sure no one was following us. I finally asked Shane what I've been meaning to ask him. "What's on that third tape?"  
  
He didn't say anything just had a far away look in his eye. "Something no one wants to ever see."  
  
"What?" I asked.   
  
"My father telling someone to kill me and Marissa."  
  
"So that's why you and Marissa disappeared."  
  
"Yeah. There was a number at the bottom telling me to call them and they'd help me. It was to Erichson's number. I called and Marissa and I moved into the mountains. Where we had two children, Andrea and Wes. And everything was fine. Until a couple weeks ago." He said looking pointedly at me.   
  
I shrugged. He did have a point. But I couldn't even imagine finding something out like that. I mean could a man be so cruel to want his son and daughter-in-law killed? I mean it's one thing to want your employees killed but your own flesh and blood? I could never see my dad doing that to me. Poor Shane.  
  
It was a quiet drive back to the cabin. Shane kept checking to make sure there wasn't anyone following us.   
  
When we got to the cabin, we found Eddy waiting outside for us. He had called my cellphone about an hour ago to see how things had gone. He didn't sound too happy about Vince's threat. When we stepped out of the car people came out of the cabin. I don't k now how so many people can stay in one cabin at once. There were Michael, Tammy, Marissa, Andi, Wes, dad, and Owen.   
  
"You okay?" Dad asked right away.  
  
"I'm fine. I'm glad Shane showed up though. Vince seemed a little on edge."   
  
"No kidding. He threatened me." Shane said.   
  
"So we'll need to start moving towards taking Vince down faster. Vince is obviously suspicious. Both Danny and Athena are in danger." Erichson said.  
  
I sighed. This is really bad. My questions have put everyone in danger. Not for the first time I wondered why I didn't keep my mouth shut.  
  
Eddy and I went into the kitchen to talk. It was quieter in there.   
  
"So how are you?" He asked me right away.   
  
"I'm fine. Vince had a lot of questions about why I was asking about my dad. Shane came in and well Vince threatened him."  
  
"That didn't surprise me. Glad you are okay. Things will have to be moved up faster. Vince doesn't make threats lightly. He means them. As you already can tell."  
  
I nodded. "Shane told me about the third tape. The one he got that showed Vince ordering his death. I knew it had to be bad for him to come up to the cabin but not that bad."  
  
"Vince got really bad information telling him his son knew about what he had done. And Vince wanted to cover it up. There's nothing that man wouldn't do to make sure no one found out."  
  
"And of course Shane didn't know?"   
  
"Not until he got to the cabin. We figure the person who told Vince was misinformed or didn't like Shane. More likely it's the latter. Shane's a good man but everyone has enemies." Eddy sighed and looked at his watch. "And don't worry about Chad. I'll deal with him tomorrow. No one pulls that shit and expects to stay in OVW."  
  
***  
  
Eddy gave me a ride back to OVW to pick up my car. Everyone had warned me to extra careful. And dad almost didn't want me to leave but that would make things even more suspicious if I had stayed.  
  
I was putting my key in the car lock when I heard someone walk up behind me. I turned around quickly ready to fight. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was Athena.   
  
"Don't sneak up on me like that." I said my heart still racing.   
  
"Sorry and I'm sorry for you getting kidnapped." Athena said. "I know if I hadn't Sharpshootered Stephanie Vince wouldn't have grabbed you."  
  
"That's okay Athena. I think he was suspicious about other stuff. But as for Stephanie she got what she deserved I'm sure."  
  
"She did. Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. Vince just asked me why I was asking questions about my father." I looked around to make sure no one was around. "Shane came and Vince threatened him." Eddy had told me not to mention what Shane said was on the tape to anyone. So I'll leave it at that. 


	45. A Party Disaster

I sighed. It was late by the time I entered my apartment after getting my car from OVW. I was feeling very frazzled by then. To know that about Shane.   
  
My phone was ringing. No one was supposed to answer my phone. Would cause too many questions. "Hello?"  
  
'Danny? I've been trying to reach you for a couple days.' It was my mother.  
  
"Hi mom. I've been out of town again and then caught the flu."   
  
'I was just calling to remind you that Jason's birthday is Saturday.' Today's Wednesday. 'You still planning to attend?'  
  
Oh no. I had totally forgotten about Jason's birthday. Many people were going to be there even Megan and David. I wonder if I can back out. "I don't know. With this flu and all..."  
  
'I really hope you can make it. Jason would be happy if you could.' I could hear the hopefulness in her voice.  
  
And before I realized it, I was saying that I'd be there.  
  
I've been standing up to her about wrestling, and I can't even say I won't go to the birthday party.  
  
***  
  
I tentatively knocked on the door. The door opened and Trevor was standing there. He smiled at me and hugged me. Trevor's a pretty cool kid but doesn't know anything about his mother's history of being in wrestling. And I'm not allowed to tell him. One day he's going to find out. Kinda like I found out everything about my father.   
  
I walked into the living room and saw that most of the family had arrived. It was supposed to be just a small family dinner. Tatem, her husband Ted, their daughter Misha, David and his wife Sally, and Megan. I kissed my mother on the cheek. I was just about over my flu. Then said happy birthday to my stepfather.   
  
I refused to look at Megan in fear of starting to yell at her. I'll wait till later to do that. Don't need to make a big scene.  
  
As we sat at the table eating dinner, I looked at everyone. Misha and Trevor were talking. Mom and Jason were laughing at some joke that Sally had made. Ted, Tatem, and David were talking about the new Eminem movie and Megan was staring at me. I glared at her. She gave me a slight smile. Okay that was just a bit strange.  
  
"Oh Nancy you hear about Danny being at RAW?"  
  
Oh boy Megan you don't know what you just did. "Yes I did. He told me. He also informed me that you were also there. Now I may not be your mother but you should not be hanging out with Stephanie and Hunter."  
  
"What's wrong with them? They are nice people."  
  
I stifled a laugh. Mom shot me a look and I stopped.  
  
"I don't want any of you having anything to do with the McMahon's and the WWE." She said.   
  
"Why? They have been nice to me!"  
  
"Nice enough to kidnap me." I muttered. I hadn't realized I had said it aloud until my mother stood up. Okay maybe I need to stop hanging around with Athena.  
  
"What?!" She all but yelled.  
  
"I was dragged to his office and tied to a chair." I left out the part about being dragged from OVW. That's not what she needs to know.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He offered me a contract with WWE. A friend of mine didn't react too well to the offer Stephanie gave her and put her in a sharpshooter. He was being cautious I guess." I lied.  
  
"See that is why you need to stay away from the business! I told you it was a bad idea." My mother ranted for quite awhile. I felt bad for Jason. This was his birthday after all. 


	46. Guest trainers

Notes Jules wrote this and it's Danny's POV still  
  
Well, I finally was able to get back to training at OVW after what Vince did and my disastrous family reunion at my Mom's and Jason's. I really do feel sorry for Jason. I wish I hadn't opened my big mouth about the whole kidnapping ordeal. All that progress with my mother and Tatem concerning my training went out the window in one sentence. They're more adamant than ever that I quit training. Though David had fun hearing about Stephanie Helmsley being put in the sharpshooter. I don't think he likes the fact that his sister is hanging out with the McMahon's.   
  
I got to OVW relaxed for once. Aside from Simone giving me dirty looks. Rumors are, Simone and Chad are going out. Normally, and especially after the last month of learning what Uncle Eddy was really doing, I don't take much stock to them, but with Simone, they're usually true. But most of them are giving me sympathetic looks for what happened to me. Nobody, but Vince, Linda, and maybe Stephanie, and Hunter knows about Shane's involvement and we all want to keep it that way. It's too soon to tip all of our hands and no one who knows why Shane's hiding want Vince to figure out where Shane is and finish the job he tried to do 10 years back.   
  
Uncle Ric and Uncle Arn went back home yesterday. For REAL this time. There were some arguments back and forth about that but in the end it was agreed that Ric's and Arn's continued presences in Kentucky would only lead to more suspicions on the McMahons parts and that wouldn't be good for anybody. Bret was staying for a few more days just to be sure Stephanie doesn't try to threaten Athena again. Vince by now, has to be well aware that Bret's here since Athena mentioned it in her conversation with Stephanie, and would be an idiot to try to go after his arch enemy's niece, given that he got more than he bargained for when he kidnapped me while Bret was still around But then again I guess nobody could accuse Vince, Hunter, or Stephanie of being very smart given recent actions, could they?   
  
I look around and note that Chad's not there. Pretty much confirms what Athena said about Chad being suspended from OVW for helping Vince. I figure this means Uncle Eddy's given some major weight for what Chad's punishment should be before Eddy fires him. Eddy's already said that anybody pulling what Chad pulled would be let go on the spot and Chad was only sticking around to be put up as an example of what the kind of actions Chad did gets people. Chad's punishment must be a good one.   
  
Athena's not there either. I'm guessing she's waiting for the furor of what she did to Stephanie McMahon - Helmsley to die down before she returns. Most of the people at OVW, Cam included, are saying that the rich bitch got what she deserved. That saying something considering Cam's parents are best buds with the Helmsleys and would probably not be happy to hear Cam saying that.   
  
I see Uncle Eddy agitated about something. That's not good news, especially considering the last month or so. I wonder what's got him bothered. I wouldn't have to wait long.   
  
"Listen up, class!" Eddy says loudly getting our attention. This week's the week where we have our guest trainer from WCW here." Last week was WWF week and the trainer was supposed to be Cam's dad Shawn, but thankfully had a family emergency with his youngest daughter and wife to take care off and wasn't able to be there. Which was good in two ways: 1) it was one less complication considering all that was going on, especially since I was keeping all of this from Cameron 2) somehow I don't think it'd been a good idea to have the possibility of Cam's father and Athena's uncle in the same room together given what I've been told about their history together. This week was obviously WCW week.  
  
"This week we have two trainers, both with long and distinguished careers in wrestling."   
  
Two trainers? That was a rarity. Even more rare than last week when we didn't have a guest trainer at all.   
  
"Without further introduction, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn." Uncle Eddy finished, introducing our guest trainers from WCW.   
  
Oh hell. Now I know why Eddy was so agitated. I'd known both men all my life, having them visit my mom's house throughout to make sure my Mom was okay after my Dad 'died.' Dean 'The Iceman' Malenko was the guest trainer my first week in OVW.   
  
Uncle Dean was also my Dad's closest friend and from what little I remember and being told later on took my dad's 'death' the hardest. Both had wrestled with and against each other for a long time. Although Perry Saturn wasn't as close to my Dad as Dean was, he still took my Dad's 'death' hard as I saw from both in the memorial video Uncle Ric showed me. According to my Mom, neither man was the same after that night in Atlanta.   
  
And I know damn good and well for a fact that Ric never got a chance to call them to spill the beans and if either man had received a video tape, my door would probably be a goner by now   
  
Oy, this was going to be a long week. 


	47. A Bad Feeling

Eddy started speaking again. "As you know there is a show tomorrow. There is a rule that if you don't attend training you don't get to participate in the show." It actually was a fair rule. I mean if you don't make the effort to attend training why should you get to wrestle on a show? Guess that means I won't be wrestling but it's only fair I suppose.   
  
Eddy continued. "But I'm making an exception. And I'm also doing something I normally wouldn't do. There will be an unscripted tag match tomorrow between Cameron and Danny against Chad and a wrestler of his choice. After that Chad will no longer be allowed in the building. There are no other changes to the card."  
  
I was stunned with that announcement. I don't think anyone was expecting that to be his decision on handling Chad. But I was looking forward to it. Boy did Simone look mad. She looked like she wanted to kill somebody. Well Chad was finally getting what he deserved.   
  
Training was a bit harder then usual. I haven't had a chance to train in several weeks. Uncle Perry gave me some pointers and even he seemed to know the significance of the match tomorrow. Uncle Eddy probably told him.   
  
After training I was in the weight room. I guess I was hiding from Perry and Dean. I was not looking forward to a conversation with them. But I knew it was coming. It wouldn't surprise me if my mother had talked to them.   
  
The door opened. I looked up. Sure enough they were there. "Hey can we talk to you a second?" Uncle Perry asked.  
  
I shrugged. "Sure." I was pretty sure saying no wouldn't have done any good. They both sat on the bench facing me.  
  
"Your mother called me." Uncle Dean started. Ah so I was right. "She's worried about you. She told us about your kidnapping and your trip to Kemper. That's partially why I asked Perry if he'd co-guest train this week. You know I have nothing against your training."  
  
"Neither do I." Uncle Perry interrupted.  
  
"It's just we want to know what's going on?" Uncle Dean continued. "First week you were here you were a lot different. You just don't seem the same." Uncle Dean's pretty good at reading people I've been told. "What's on your mind?"  
  
"Having trouble with people here? I mean besides Chad." Uncle Perry said.  
  
I chuckled. "No everyone's cool with a couple of exceptions. I've just been thinking about my dad a lot lately." I think that was the most truthful safe answer that I could have given. It was the truth.   
  
"Ah." Uncle Dean said. "I bet you are. Must be tough having your mother against your training and probably people with a million questions. And then the thing with Vince." Dean stopped talking. He had a dark look on his face. You know it's too bad he doesn't know about dad. The subject seems to still sadden him. Of course before I knew my father was alive I was the same way. He's right. This whole thing has changed me.  
  
"Your dad was a good man. Don't let anyone tell you different." Perry said. "I know he'd be proud of you if he was still alive."   
  
It was quiet again. "I think you dad was hoping you or David would become a wrestler but I don't think it would have bothered him if you didn't." Dean said. "He loved you and your brother and sister."   
  
My 'uncle' didn't get the wrestling name Iceman for nothing but sometimes that mask that he wears disappears and he's just as emotional as the rest of us. I have a flash of memory of dad's funeral again and Dean crying while talking. He did cry on the RAW tribute. He looked like he was about to now.  
  
"Maybe we should go so Danny can talk to Cam." Perry said to Dean before turning to me. "Sounds like tomorrow will be interesting."  
  
"I'm looking forward to it." I said with a smile on my face.  
  
"Just be careful. Those kinds of matches are dangerous." Dean said before getting up. He and Perry walked out of the locker room. I went to find Cam.  
  
***  
  
A few hours later I arrived back at my apartment after talking strategy with Cam. The phone was ringing. I picked it up quickly. "Hello?"  
  
'Daniel? It's your dad.'  
  
Whoa I wonder if something's wrong. Why would dad be chancing it by calling me? Its not that I'm not happy he called it's just with everything happening that might be a bad idea. "Hi dad."  
  
'I heard there's an OVW show tomorrow night.'  
  
"Yeah I'm teaming with Cameron against Chad and somebody of his choice." I wonder what dad thinks of the fact that I'm teaming with Cameron Michaels. I wonder why he brought it up.  
  
'I was wondering if you could pick me up for the show. I'll have a disguise. It'll be a good one so that Eddy doesn't spot me.'  
  
"Dad I'd love for you to come, but isn't that dangerous? What if someone did spot you?"  
  
'I'll have a disguise. Don't worry no one would know it's me.'  
  
Somehow that makes me think he's done something like this before. As I learned at Kemper, disguises aren't always the best things. Hunter spotted me. But I couldn't tell dad that! He doesn't know about my trip to Kemper. At least I hope he doesn't. I don't think Tammy broke her promise but still.  
  
"I just don't know dad. What if you get caught?"  
  
'I won't. Daniel I really want to watch you wrestle. Can you pick me up tomorrow afternoon around 3? That's when most of the people in the cabin are gone. Owen's the only other one here then.'  
  
I sighed. I find it hard to say no to my dad. I guess it's because I missed 14 years of having him around. And I was sure no matter how much I argued with him he'd still find a way. He kind of reminded me of Megan. But I wasn't about to tell him that!  
  
I sighed. "Okay I'll pick you up at three."  
  
'Thanks Daniel. I can't wait to see you wrestle. Gotta go before someone walks in. Love you.'  
  
"Love you too." We hung up.  
  
I had a bad feeling about this. 


	48. The Match

Notes: This is all your fault Harry ;).  
  
I rolled my eyes as I picked up my father from the cabin. He was standing there in jeans, T-shirt, a hat and sunglasses. He also had a bag with him. They'd all shoot us both if they knew what we were doing. I swear it wasn't my idea! I have enough problems with my mother finding out about what Vince did and my sister thinking the McMahon's are saints. But no my dad decides to make everything even more complicated. He wants to do something really stupid.  
  
He wants to see me wrestle at OVW.  
  
You know anyone else would be happy to have their legendary father watch them wrestle. But their fathers probably aren't presumed dead by almost everyone in the world! My dad has lost his mind.  
  
"Dad are you absolutely sure about this? What if someone spots you?"  
  
"Daniel I've already told you. No one will spot me. Because a. I've got a good disguise and b. No one's looking for a dead wrestler to show up at a wrestling show."   
  
I sigh. I guess there was no arguing with my father. I drop him off at the gas station down the road so he can change into a disguise. He's already wearing sunglasses and a hat but he's got an idea that would fool even Eddy. I have to see this. Hopefully if it's a good disguise I won't be able to spot him.   
  
When I got to the arena almost everyone was there. I found Cam in the dressing room. We quickly went over our strategy for the night. My dad temporarily forgotten. This match wasn't going to be easy that was for sure. Maybe this wasn't the type of match dad should see me wrestle in.  
  
When our match was announced I saw that Chad had chosen one of the biggest people in OVW, Peter Patterson. I guess it's a wise choice in a shoot fight, unscripted whatever you want to call it, since Cam and I both are pretty small. I may be announced at 205 but I actually weigh about 185 and Cam's almost 10 pounds heavier. But whatever. Chad was going to learn something about working for Vince.  
  
Athena, who's hair was even redder if that was possible, was waiting for us. I wasn't going to tell her about my father being in the audience. Me knowing was all that was needed. I had enough to worry about with just me knowing. We went out to the ring I looked everywhere and didn't see anyone that resembled my father. That was a good thing if he was there.  
  
"Your family here?" Athena asked. I guess she had seen me looking around. I almost said yes but shook my head.   
  
Simone accompanied Peter and Chad and all three were glaring at me. Which was expected I guess. Cam started the match with Peter. They wrestled for a little bit and then I tagged in. Chad immediately tagged in. We circled each other. The ref stood back just watching.   
  
"I'm going to make you pay for me being fired." Chad said.  
  
"You got yourself fired." I said as we locked up. Chad kicked me hard in the stomach. I fell to the mat. He kicked me in the ribs. I got back up and chopped him. I had known chops were something dad was known for. I had once heard a story from someone that dad made a wrestler cry once with his chops. I backed Chad into the corner and continued to chop him.   
  
I saw out of the corner of my eye Peter distracting the ref. While my head was turned Chad tossed me out of the ring and followed me out. He threw me into the barricade dazing me just a little. I got up slowly and rolled into the ring and was kicked by Peter. Then he stepped on my hand hard. And that hurt. I kicked him in the leg and got up to my knees. I saw I wasn't too far from my corner and crawled over. That was when I was kicked in the head. I rolled out of the ring. And sold that. It might be unscripted but we didn't want the fans to know that.  
  
I got hit in the head with something hard. I lay there a few seconds trying to get the world to stop spinning. Chad rolled me back into the ring. He kicked my hand several times before tagging back out to Peter. He suplexed me and I hit the mat hard. This wasn't even a wrestling match anymore. Even the suplex wasn't done right. They were out to injure me. Definitely not the match my father should be watching.   
  
This went on for several minutes before I was able to tag out to Cam. I sat on the apron just watching him take over on them. Cam was even able to make Chad bleed hardway. I got back into the ring and speared Peter as Chad was hit with the superkick for the win. We both rolled out of the ring. Athena came over and congratulated us both. My head still felt like someone was beating a drum in it. But at least the match was over and Chad was out of here.  
  
Uncle Eddy met us in the back. "Good match you two. Danny have the trainer check on you. Your wrist is swollen."  
  
I looked down. I hadn't even noticed that. It really was swollen and it hurt. I went to the training room. The trainer, Brick, checked my wrist and then checked for a concussion. "No breaks or a concussion but you did sprain your wrist. Try not to use it for two weeks while training."  
  
"Thanks Brick."   
  
The tag match was the last match of the night. I changed and then picked up my father at the gas station and he told me how good the match was and how proud he was of me.   
  
Unfortunately for us when we got back to the cabin there was a cabin full of angry people wondering where the hell we went.  
  
Before we went into the cabin dad took something from around his neck and handed it to me.   
  
"I want you to have this." He said. "It means a lot to me and I want to give it to you."  
  
I was about to look at it when my car door was opened. I looked up to see Erichson. 


	49. Suspicions

Notes: This was written during Vengeance and Dana could not stand to watch the slut fight so she decided to type this. (Yes I'm typing in 3rd person.). But on a better note, if you missed Eddy vs Chris you missed one of the best matches they've had. And that includes other promotions. Athena's POV. Yep we are dragging out the events of last chapter.  
  
I was packing my bag after the show when I saw Dean Malenko walk up to Eddy. I heard a lot about Dean from Danny. Dean's been guest trainer here a few times before this week. He's very close to the Benoit family. So I know his presence makes both Eddy and Danny nervous.   
  
"Good show Eddy." Dean said. "You've got a lot of talented wrestlers."  
  
"Thanks. Yeah we've just gotten rid of our biggest problem." He said with a slight smile. He seemed more relaxed. Whether from the fact, the show went well or Chad getting his due or something else I don't know.   
  
"I'm sure he just learned a lesson about what working for Vince will get you." I noticed a sad tone to that which I understood from what Danny told me about what he remembered. He quickly changed the subject. "Danny's doing well."  
  
"Yeah. He's picking up moves fast and he seems to really love the sport." There was a hint of pride in Eddy's voice.  
  
"Like father like son." Dean said Eddy gave a small chuckle. "Speaking of which I saw someone in the audience that reminded me of Chris. It was rather weird. He didn't say much though. But I swear if Chris was alive that could have been him."  
  
Eddy went very pale. I leaned back against the wall. It had to be a coincidence. Chris and Danny wouldn't do anything that crazy. Would they? Please tell me Chris and Danny are smarter then that. Dean could be mistaken right?  
  
"Too bad I missed it." His phone started ringing. He looked at the caller id and went even a shade paler. That wasn't a good sign. "Look Dean I'll catch you later. I need to take this call."  
  
"No problem Eddy. Perry and I were thinking of heading to Angelo's with the others. See you there?"  
  
"Probably." Eddy said looking at his phone again. Dean walked away.   
  
I followed Eddy but didn't go into his office. But if someone came closer, I could alert him. From the expression on his face from when the phone rang this wasn't a conversation most people needed to hear. But I really couldn't hear the conversation because I wasn't in the office and it was loud. But the conversation didn't seem to be a long one. Eddy came back out looking worse then he had when he went in there. I had a feeling I could guess what he had been told. He saw me and frowned.  
  
"It would seem that Chris was here." He said softly in case someone was around. But I could tell he was furious.  
  
What were they thinking?  
  
Eddy ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to Angelo's. Don't need to cause suspicion by not going. I'll let Erichson give them the riot act first then Danny's going to get it when he shows up at OVW tomorrow. You might as well go to Angelo's too. I'll pass on any info that the cabin gives me."  
  
I sighed. I wanted to go to the cabin but Eddy did have a point. I walked back out to ringside. Most of the audience was gone. A few were lingering for autographs. I went over and signed a couple.   
  
"Sierra you going to Angelo's?" Someone asked from behind me. I turned around to see Cam who had received a few stitches from the match.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Need a ride?" He asked.  
  
I waited until the fans were gone and no one was in earshot before answering, "actually my Uncle Bret's around here somewhere so I'm going with him. I'll see you there?" I was glad that Uncle Bret wasn't near by. I didn't really want to explain this to him.   
  
"Sure." He pecked me on the cheek walked away.   
  
I was about to go looking for Uncle Bret but as I turned around, I saw him standing there. I hope he wasn't standing there the whole time.  
  
"I didn't know you and Cameron were so close." He asked right away. Shit I might as well tell him the whole truth.  
  
"We used to date. We aren't together anymore Uncle Bret. He's a good friend. And he knows who I am."  
  
"That was a dumb thing to do. You realize who his father is?"  
  
"Yes I know who he is Uncle Bret but he's not like his father. Trust me on this. He's a great guy. You should have heard how he talked to Stephanie when she was here. He doesn't like her either."  
  
"Just be careful." 


	50. chewed Out

"Where the hell were you?" Erichson asked. "You know better then to leave like that."  
  
"I was disguised."  
  
"So was Danny at Kemper and he was still spotted." Erichson fired back. Oh shit. I didn't think they knew about that. The only one I told was Tammy. Did she tell him? She said she wouldn't tell anyone. Or did she just mean she wouldn't tell dad.   
  
"How did..." I asked.  
  
"Eddy told me a few days ago." Erichson said.  
  
I wonder how Eddy found out. Wait my mom probably told him too! She already told Dean and Perry why not him? It's probably a good thing I haven't had a chance to really talk to Eddy though I'll definitely be chewed out tomorrow.  
  
"You were at Kemper?" Owen demanded. "Why would you go there?"  
  
"Just wanted to watch. I wanted to see the WWF for myself. I didn't think I would get caught."   
  
My dad looked at me and shook his head. Maybe I was more like my father then I thought.  
  
"Oh and Chris you were spotted. Eddy called to say that Dean Malenko says he saw someone that looked like you." Erichson said.   
  
Dad sighed. "I accidentally ran into him during the show. I hadn't thought he knew it was me. He didn't say anything to me and I didn't say anything to him. But, he doesn't know it's me for sure. After all he thinks I'm dead."   
  
I knew this was a bad idea. But dad wouldn't listen to me. I sighed sitting back to be chewed out by everyone at the cabin. I looked at the thing in my hand as everyone started yelling at dad first. It was a necklace with a weird symbol on it. It was a four and yet not really a four. It had something sticking out on both sides. I couldn't really explain what it was. It almost looked like a horse. I'd have to ask dad what it was. I slipped it on.   
  
***  
  
The next day I entered OVW. I was late since I had to drive here from the cabin.  
  
"Danny Eddy wants to talk to you right away." D-Lo called. I sighed. It figured. I knew what it was about. It was his turn to tell me that I was doing stupid things. I already heard enough from everyone at the cabin.   
  
I was about to knock on the Eddy's office door. I stopped when I heard him and Uncle Dean talking. I listened.  
  
"Eddy I saw him myself! It could have been a lookalike but..."   
  
"I'm sure it was a lookalike. Dean Chris wasn't there. Chris has been dead fourteen years."  
  
"You don't have to tell me that Eddy. I was at the World watching the PPV that night."  
  
Uncle Dean was watching the PPV that night in NY? I'd heard that Vince sent a bunch of WWF wrestlers to the restaurant/Nightclub so that it could be reopened after a two-year shutdown that night. Never occurred to me that he'd send Uncle Dean there as part of it. My mom was always frosty to Uncle Dean after that night and I never knew why. It makes a little more sense if Uncle Dean hadn't been in Atlanta that night.   
  
"Anyone ever tell you it's not nice to eavesdrop?" I turned around to see Uncle Perry standing there.   
  
"Oh I was just waiting for them to finish. I have a meeting with Eddy."  
  
He shrugged and opened the door. "Come on in Danny." Eddy said. Darn it I really should have walked away when Perry saw me. I walked into the room. "Can you get the door Perry?" Eddy asked  
  
I took a seat. Eddy stared at me for a second. "Dean, Perry I need to discuss something with Danny could you excuse us? We can talk about that later."  
  
They started to leave when Dean came closer to me. I looked at him uncertainly. He pulled something from around my neck. "Where'd you get this?"  
  
"My dad gave it to me once." Well that wasn't a complete lie. Dad had given it to me and that could cover a lot. Eddy's eyes got wide as he saw it. What? It's just a necklace.  
  
"Eddy he was wearing this the other night!"  
  
Eddy closed his eyes. What was going on? I mean I'm sure it could have been any other necklace. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Danny the only people that had this necklace were your father and Brian Pillman. It's the Rogue Horsemen symbol. Nancy said she hasn't seen it in years."  
  
Oh shit. What was that line from that old show called A-Team? White paper? Yeah that sounds crazy but I'd really like to disappear right now. Uncle Eddy definitely looks like he wants to disappear too.  
  
"Dean..." Eddy started to say but Uncle Dean turned to look at him fire burning in his eyes.  
  
"Eddy you have to tell me how this necklace got to Danny if it hasn't been seen in fourteen years."  
  
"He could have found it." I could see that Eddy was grasping for straws. I think the others could see it too.  
  
"But the man I saw a few days ago had that on! Eddy tell me something. And I want an honest answer. Is Chris alive?" I could see the tears in his eyes.   
  
Eddy gave a solemn nod. "I don't know why I bother anymore."  
  
"You've known the whole time haven't you?" Perry demanded.  
  
Eddy nodded again. "You have to know I would have told you if I could..."  
  
"I can't believe you kept this from us! He was my best friend. You knew how depressed I got. I remember you calling me that night and telling me that the medic told you he was dead! How could you lie like that?"  
  
"Dean you need to understand I couldn't tell you the truth! I hated lying to everyone. His life was...is in danger. For fourteen years very few people knew and then all of a sudden everyone's finding this out!" He ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't know what to do anymore."  
  
Perry and Dean looked at each other. "Let us see him." Perry said.  
  
"Can't do that. We have enough problems right now. And Dean's already seen him."  
  
"We should be able to see him!" Dean said. "To make sure he's all right."  
  
"Dean I said I can't do that. He's in hiding. Just let it go. Please just let it go." Eddy slumped down in his seat. A shell of what he was when I came in here almost a month ago asking questions about my dad's death. I still can't believe what it all led to.  
  
I slipped out of the room. I'd let Eddy deal with that. Hey I didn't have to discuss anything with Eddy yet. As I was walking down the hall, someone pushed me into a room. Damn it! What is it about me and being kidnapped? The door is locked. I can hear someone in the background. I wonder why Vince is trying this again. "What do you want this time Vince?" I asked.  
  
"It's not Vince." A voice said. I don't know who it is though. I've heard his voice before but I can't place it. But it was definitely not Vince. "But I'm here to warn you about Vince. Stop asking questions kid. You are going to destroy everything we've been doing. Your getting killed will defeat the purpose."  
  
"Who are you?" I demanded.  
  
There was a long pause. "Eric Bischoff." 


	51. Even More Problems

"What? You work for Vince!" I couldn't believe it. Now I'm being kidnapped by Vince's assistants?  
  
"Technically. I'm sort of undercover. I'm keeping an eye on Vince. If I hadn't found out what Vince had planned for your father fourteen years ago, he wouldn't be alive. I overheard Stephanie and Hunter plotting it all out. I've been working with Erichson since 2001 when I found the Owen tape. Russo had left it out. I watched it thinking that it was something else. We were able to bargain with Goldberg to get him to make it look real and he'd only be charged with involuntary manslaughter."  
  
I sat on the floor taking that all in. I'd always presumed Goldberg had intentionally done it and that it was luck that my dad had survived. Vince hadn't plotted that? Oh God! Megan! "My sister..."  
  
"Look Danny I know you want to help your sister but you can't tell her what I just told you. You'll blow everyone's cover. I'm sure she'll be fine. Hunter and Stephanie do seem to like her."   
  
I stare blankly at him for a second. "Great that's a real relief." I said sarcastically. I guess I should be glad they aren't using her or something.  
  
"I'm telling you this because everyone's main concern is you and Athena. Not that Vince has said anything about going after you two or anything but you need to stop asking questions."  
  
The door opened. "Eric what the hell are you doing?"  
  
Thankfully, it was Eddy and not Vince.   
  
"Just talking to Danny and telling him what he needs to know."  
  
Eddy sighed. "Eric you really shouldn't of. We've got other problems to deal with."  
  
"It's to help him Eddy. If he keeps asking he's going to get us all in trouble." Eric fired back.   
  
"Eric stop meddling. Wasn't sending him the videos enough? Just go back to watching Vince. We've got everything under control." Whoa Eric sent me the tapes?   
  
"Yeah right Eddy. Then explain Vince kidnapping Danny if you have everything under control."  
  
"Chad has been taken care of. And you said already Vince has no clue about anything."  
  
"But his son showing up after 10 years does make him suspicious Guerrero!"  
  
It was like watching a ping pong game listening to those two argue. I could see they didn't like each other, which made things even more interesting. And now I knew who sent the videos. Things still didn't make sense to me.   
  
"How did you know I was here anyway?"  
  
"No one had seen Danny come back from my office and I found this door locked. Had no idea it was you. You are starting to act like Vince you know that?"  
  
"Don't even go there! I'm nothing like Vince and you know it."  
  
"Sure whatever. Look I have enough problems. I got a phone call from Vince telling me whom they are sending here as guest trainer. You could have warned me!"  
  
"I was planning to. Didn't know Vince got a hold of you that soon. You have to..."  
  
"I am not letting him in this building let alone train! And there's two very good reasons why."  
  
"I know that but Vince is already suspicious..."  
  
"Let him be! He knows I won't stand for Helmsley training. I told him when they started this guest trainer thing. There is no way in hell he's going to be here. And that's final."  
  
"Well there's still a few days before the new guest trainer starts but Eddy you need to think about this. If you tell Vince no he'll try something else. Maybe you can get him to send another trainer to. Someone you pick. He might go for that."  
  
I just sat there listening. I had to agree with Uncle Eddy. Triple H shouldn't be allowed to be guest trainer. But then again I'd love to punch that SOB. Probably another reason why Eddy doesn't want him here.   
  
"I'll try to talk Vince into sending someone else but prepare for Triple H. I can't guarantee he'll listen to me." Eric left.  
  
Eddy turned to look at me. "We need to talk about your recent actions."  
  
Dang I'd hoped I could get past that.  
  
"What have you been thinking Danny?" Eddy asked. "Kemper and sneaking your father into the arena? Do you want everyone to get caught or something? Because if you do you're doing a good job."  
  
"My father wanted to come to the show. And I was curious about WWF and that's why I went to RAW. There were questions I had and hoped I'd get them by being there. I didn't think Helmsley would spot me."   
  
"Eddy!" Someone was calling from the hallway.   
  
Eddy got up and stuck his head out the door. "Yeah?"  
  
"Ven injured her leg."   
  
"I'll be right out." He closed the door. "We'll talk later. And Danny? If Hunter does come here next week you and Athena are not going to be here. He'll bring Stephanie and I don't need you four fighting." He started muttering some curses in Spanish before leaving the room.   
  
I waited a couple minutes before leaving. 


	52. No Trust

Notes: I was thinking this should be from Athena's POV because we've written a lot of Danny POV coming up. Don't ask why I picked this particular move I just happen to like how it's done.  
  
I was working on a Japanese arm drag with Simone with Dean Malenko giving advice on it. What makes it different then a regular one is you cinch in tight and flip the person completely over. Dean said Ricky Steamboat and Ricky Morton did it in the 80s and early 90s. Simone was actually being civil for once.   
  
While Simone works with someone else I look around the room. Danny's in one of the offices with a few others watching a video of an old wrestling match. Danny's sprained wrist has limited his training. Eddy, from what I have been told, hasn't left his office. Something about getting the guest trainer fixed for next week. Danny already told me it's supposed to be Helmsley but Eddy's trying to find a compromise that even Vince would agree to. I personally would love to put Stephanie in the Sharpshooter again. And Danny would like to strangle her husband but I know Eddy's trying to prevent that.  
  
Speaking of which, here he comes now. "Sorry to interrupt. Chavo can you go get the others out of the tape and weight rooms?" Chavo went to do so. When everyone was back in the room he spoke. "As some of you may have heard, Hunter Hearst Helmsley was going to be guest trainer next week. I have been on the phone all morning. There has been a change made. There will be a guest trainer and sort of an advisor." Oh so Triple H will be there. Hmm that will be interesting. I wonder who this advisor will be. We've had them before. They just mean non-wrestlers or former wrestlers that are too old to wrestle. Or like Amy Hardy who came to just watch. "The guest trainer will be Shawn Michaels. He is coming in next week to make up for the week he missed." Is Helmsley acting as an advisor or something? And if so we have both Helmsley and Michaels? That can't be good. Oh Uncle Bret would kill them both. "And I have called in a favor. The advisor doesn't come from the WWE. I asked him myself to come in. His name is Bret Hart."  
  
There was a lot of talking after that announcement. I was shocked. Wow Uncle Bret and Shawn Michaels training together? Or rather Uncle Bret advising? That's bound to be more volatile then if Helmsley was here. I looked over at Cam who was looking at me with a surprised look on his face. Next week certainly was going to be interesting.  
  
***  
  
When I got back to my apartment I found Uncle Bret watching TV. "Eddy told us about you being an advisor next week." I said as soon as I sat down.   
  
"Yeah. Eddy wants me to keep an eye on Shawn. He thinks my being there will throw him off. Eddy doesn't trust him. Understandably so. I don't trust him. I'll probably choke him. But if it was HHH..." he trailed off. He didn't need to finish that. I knew what he meant.   
  
"I almost wish Triple H would come." I said.   
  
He smiled. "Me too but all considered I can see why Eddy doesn't want him here. Danny would be likely to tear his head off and you'd probably do the same to Stephanie. Eddy's pretty sure Vince is sending HBK to spy for him." He was quiet for a second. "Maybe it's best you don't associate with Cameron next week."  
  
"What? Uncle Bret Cameron's a good guy. He'd never do anything." I wish Uncle Bret could understand that. "You know Eddy wouldn't have teamed him with Danny the other night if he wasn't."  
  
"True though I sometimes wonder about Eddy's judgment. But just stay away from him. he may not be as bad as his father but I don't know him."  
  
"You'll get to know him Monday." I pointed out.   
  
"I'll be fair Monday but if Shawn and I are alone watch out."  
  
I smiled. That might be something I'd want to see. 


	53. Caution

Notes: at the rate this fic is going things are going to get very interesting in the next 3 chapters. Actually, things really start to pick up next chapter. I, Dana, am dedicating this chapter to my cousin who died this morning in a car accident.   
  
Uncle Bret and I arrived at OVW separately to not raise suspicion. We didn't want people to know we were related. But as I opened the door I was almost knocked down by someone leaving the building. It took me a second to realize who it was as he stormed away.   
  
"Danny? Where are you going?" I asked hurrying to catch up with him.  
  
He stopped and turned around. "Atlanta. Eddy said it would be best if I went down there. Wouldn't say why just said something's come up and I was better off not being in Kentucky."  
  
Whoa I wonder if that meant Triple H was here after all. "So you are going?"  
  
"Yeah might as well. I know that if I went you know that I'd be sent away. I'll see you next week." He walked away.  
  
When I walked into OVW I walked to Eddy's office to find out what was going on. There was someone that I didn't know sitting in his office. For some strange reason he looked slightly familiar. Eddy saw me standing in the doorway and signaled me to go. I did so. I went to the women's locker room and changed. When I went into the main room I realized things were about to get interesting.  
  
My Uncle Bret and Shawn Michaels were staring at each other. Okay where's Chavo and D-Lo? Shouldn't they be in here?  
  
I locked eyes with Cam who shrugged. I knew I couldn't try to do something. But I guess that as long as they don't start fighting it's all right. But if looks could kill they'd both be dead.  
  
"Okay guys break it up!" D-Lo called coming in. "Bret, Shawn we've got to start. Leave that for later. Eddy's got some stuff to clear up in his office and has asked me to get this started. First a couple of announcements. You might have noticed there are a few people missing today. First Joseph Adams has been accepted into a Japan Dojo. And Peter Patterson has gotten a WWE contract." There was applause. "Now to introduce your guest trainer and advisor this week." I thought it was strange he just sort of skipped over the fact that Danny wasn't here. Probably no excuse that would work. "He's been world champ many times. In fact he's held nearly all of the titles in WWE. He still works in WWE as an agent and you know his son Cam. Michael Hickenbottom AKA Shawn Michaels." He paused as Shawn sort of nodded. Then he turned to my Uncle. "The advisor has also held nearly all of the titles in both WCW and WWE. He was the third Triple Crown champion in the WWE. Bret Hart!" You know something? D-Lo would have made a great ring announcer. "Shawn you want to start?"   
  
"Sure."  
  
I was about to listen to Shawn when I heard "Sierra I need to talk to you for a second." Eddy was standing at the doorway.  
  
Oh great I'm going to be sent somewhere too. I thought as I walked over to Eddy. Instead of going into his office we went outside. I started right away. "If I'm being asked to spend the week somewhere else I want to know why."  
  
"Go somewhere else? Oh you talked to Danny. No you don't have to go somewhere else I just need you to do me a favor. Avoid Cam this week."  
  
Great I'm getting it from Eddy too. What has everyone so jumpy about Cam? "Why is everyone so against Cam? He's never done anything to make anyone suspicious. Is that why you sent Danny to Atlanta?"  
  
He looked around quickly before answering me. "No that's not why Danny's in Atlanta. We are putting something together and that would be the best place for him to be. As for Cam you are right. It's not exactly Cam we are worried about."  
  
Oh. I wonder why I'm not being told what's going on. Course the way Danny stormed out I don't think he was told anything either. Why did they think we shouldn't be told? I am so tired of this! We were a part of this after all. We had a right to know!   
  
Before I had a chance to say any of that, he had started speaking again. "We better go in and make sure Bret and Shawn haven't killed each other yet." He held the door open for me.   
  
When we walked in, we noticed Shawn was still talking. Uncle Bret was looking like he was trying not to show boredom and Shawn seemed to notice this because he was glaring at Bret. This was going to be a long week. I thought again with a sigh.  
  
I stood next to a few OVW wrestlers but still not far away from Cam. I don't care what Eddy and Uncle Bret say. Cam's not a bad guy. Not everyone's like his or her father. Shane McMahon certainly proved that.   
  
When Shawn was done giving a history of himself Eddy started talking. "Thank you Shawn. Bret you want to say something now?"  
  
Bret nodded. "I'm just here as sort of an advisor. I won't be getting in the ring with you but I can give you all pointers." He looked at Shawn before continuing. "This week should be interesting and I hope you learn something."  
  
***  
  
I was relieved when it ended for the day. I was amazed that Uncle Bret and Shawn Michaels didn't come to blows. Not saying they got along but they both kept their cool. The tension could have been cut with a knife. Oh well it's only the first day. Who knows what will happen by Friday?  
  
As I was exiting OVW I saw Cam waiting for me. Or he could have been waiting for his dad.   
  
"Hey Sierra wait up!" Cam called. I stopped. He hurried over. "Dad knows who you are. I didn't tell him Stephanie did. So be careful okay?"  
  
Things were starting to make a little sense. Eddy probably knew that. But I trust Cam. I wonder why I'm supposed to avoid him though. 


	54. Dinner Guest

Notes: Back to Danny's POV. You get to know why Eddy sent him to Atlanta ;).  
  
As much as I hated going home to Atlanta I had been enjoying the week home. Athena calls me every day to tell me what's going on. She said Eddy's been more agitated then usual and seemed nervous. And he's usually on the phone or in his office with his door closed. With Uncle Eddy that's not a good thing as we've learned.   
  
It was Sunday. I was still planning to go back tomorrow though Eddy's told me not to go anytime before then. I wonder what's going on? I was in the living room watching a movie. Mom and Jason were out running errands and Trevor was in his room. I had said I'd stay with Tatem or David but mom insisted I stay there. To say it was tense would be an understatement.  
  
The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Trevor called running to answer it. I just rolled my eyes. A second later he came back. "It's for you."  
  
Strange I wasn't expecting someone to drop by. I got up and walked to the door and looked out the peephole. I was surprised by who was standing there.  
  
I opened the door. "Don't you think it's chancing it?" I let him in.  
  
"Not really. Won't matter by tomorrow anyway. Your mother and stepfather here?"  
  
"Nope. They are out." He was looking at Trevor. "Oh sorry. Shane this is Trevor. Trevor this is Shane. Trevor can you go back into your room? I need to talk to Shane."  
  
"Sure." He hurried out of the room.  
  
We sat down. "What's up?" I asked. "Why are you here instead of Kentucky?"  
  
"It's closer to where I'm going to be tomorrow. You want to know why Eddy told you to go to Atlanta?" I nodded. I had been wondering that for nearly a week. "Vince Russo had come in that day and told him that he's willing to step forward and testify against my father. He gave us a lot of things to use against him. The original plan was for me go on Nitro with it. Using a simulcast. But then later in the week Eddy got a phone call from Eric saying Vince, as in my father, was about to take WCW back from Dustin. Now that brings up a problem. See Vince doesn't realize that Dustin doesn't really own WCW. I still own it. He's running it. So we have to get this thing rolling before Vince finds that out. And Eddy's been talking to Turner and Viacom and there will be one set up. And since you are already down here I thought you could help me with this. Eddy's been in contact with the production team of WCW and they are getting things together for it. Basically I'm taking Nitro back. You in?"  
  
I didn't really have to think about it. I nodded. Would be great to shock Vince with something like that. I couldn't wait till tomorrow.  
  
***  
  
Shane was invited to dinner that night. I'm not sure if mom was more shocked that he was here or that I knew him. Mom certainly asked him a lot of questions and he answered them as well as he could. But I knew there were questions mom wanted to ask him that she couldn't in front of Trevor.  
  
We waited until Trevor went to sleep before talking. "So how do you two know each other?" Jason asked.  
  
Okay that will be an interesting question to answer. But Shane didn't even pause. "I was the one who got Danny out of Vince's office."   
  
My mother's face is turning a nice shade of red. Yeah this isn't going to be good.  
  
"How'd you know where he was?"  
  
"I got a phone call telling me that Vince had kidnapped him so I went and got him back. That's about it. I came here looking for Danny's help to take Vince down. He won't get away with what he's done."  
  
"Shane I don't want my son anywhere near Vince. And I'm sure you can understand why."  
  
"Yes I can Nancy it's just that I do need someone to help. Vince will be in Oakland we'll be in Daytona Beach. No worries about them running into each other."  
  
"I guess. It's just after what happened to his father..."  
  
"I know." Shane said quietly. "I'll make sure nothing happens."  
  
I didn't say anything and neither did Jason. "Nanc he's eighteen. You can't shelter him anymore." Jason said finally.  
  
"I know. I know. Okay do what you want. I'll stop butting out. But if something does happen..."  
  
"Yeah I know." Shane had a slight smile on his face. "I'll have to leave the country."  
  
There was chuckling. I really hoped tomorrow went well. 


	55. Daytona Beach

Notes: Still Dannys' POV. Jeff Katz worked for WCW back in the 90s. He was hired when he was 17 can you believe it? some people have all the luck ;).  
  
"You sure about this Shane?" I asked from my spot crouched in the back. Shane was about to give his father what he deserved and had 'dragged' me along for the ride. Well he did ask first. We were sort of trying to stay out of sight until we got the link to RAW. They did it back in 2001 according to Shane. Though that had been planned by Vince.  
  
"It's about time I returned to Nitro." He chuckled. "And there is a way to do this without them finding out about the others."  
  
I had something in my ear that was telling me what was going on in the production truck. "Shane you've got about a minute. When RAW comes back from commercial they are plugging Nitro in."  
  
"I'm just glad Kim was able to get TNN to agree to this without Vince finding out. I guess we can thank Eric for that."  
  
'Go! Go! Go! Play the music! It's a go!' The person who was my connection to the truck was yelling in my earpiece. Here Comes the Money came through the arena. The arena became silent.   
  
"Go Shane!" I said.   
  
He walked out and I could hear the fans start screaming. I wasn't going out there. I'd watch from the monitors. Also I was going to keep an eye on RAW. I had access to Jeff Katz's earpiece and he could tell Shane if something went wrong.  
  
I paced backstage watching RAW and Nitro on the monitors. Shane had to get the fans down to a dull roar before he tried to speak. There was a constant chant of welcome back!   
  
"It feels good to be back in Florida where this all started. We're in Daytona Beach this time though. Say hello to RAW everyone." That caused the fans to start yelling more. And a chant of "Fuck you Vince fuck you!" Started up. "Have to love WCW fans. Anyway everyone must be wondering where I've been the last ten years and well I can't say but it feels damn good to be back on TV."  
  
Oh shit! Vince wasn't on TV. My phone started ringing. "Hello?"  
  
'Danny it's Eric!' A frantic but quiet voice was saying. 'Vince isn't here!'  
  
"What? You are kidding right? You guys are in Oakland!"  
  
'Danny he hasn't shown up at all! Let Shane know somehow! I've got to go.' He hung up.   
  
I grabbed the headset. "Jeff tell Shane Vince isn't in Oakland. Tell him now!"  
  
Just as I got that out, I felt myself being lifted off the ground. I wiggled free and landed back down. I turned around to see HHH standing there. Well I can now guess where Vince is. I dove at him and started punching him. Two pairs of hands pulled me off.   
  
"You need to chill kid." HHH said. "And watch."  
  
I looked at the monitors and wondered what the hell was going on. Vince was on RAW. The two people holding me were the Rock and HBK. Now Stephanie was headed to the ring on Nitro.  
  
I tried to get loose again. Something was really wrong here. I still had the earpiece in. It's small enough I don't think they saw that I had it.  
  
'Where is he? How close is he? Danny can you hear me? Vince is in the building! What's on RAW is pre-taped. Someone tell Jeff something's wrong! Ric? Get to the ring then! And see if Danny's okay while you are at it.'   
  
Ric's here? I didn't have much time to think anything else as I was nearly knocked down when HBK was knocked down. There was a big brawl in the back now. I'd have to thank Matt Hardy later for all the info I got over the earpiece. I now knew Vince was here but I don't know where. I dashed out to the ring leaving Arn, Ric, Perry, and Dean to brawl with the former WWE wrestlers.  
  
I dove into the ring. I doubt anyone in the crowd knew who I was but I could have cared less. I was having a very fast whispered conversation with Shane about what Matt had told me. He nodded.   
  
"Vince I know you are here. Come out here and face me."   
  
Stephanie was still standing over at the commentator's table. I don't know what that was about.   
  
'Danny nod if you can hear me.' Matt was saying into my earpiece. I gave a slight nod. It was a good thing Shane was talking or someone might wonder what I was nodding about. 'Okay what you need to know is that there's more people in this arena then Stephanie, Vince, HBK, HHH, the Rock, Ric, Arn, Perry, and Dean. And fortunately, I think it'll work for you. Still no one seems to know where Vince went. Is Amy okay?' Amy? Uh work with me here Matt I don't watch WCW! Too bad I couldn't tell him that. He chuckled. I think he realized that. 'Sorry. The woman doing commentary.' I gave another nod. 'Okay I need to get back to this. Oh shit!' And that was all I heard.  
  
I tapped Shane on the shoulder and whispered in his ear that Matt was cut off. "Where are you Vince?"  
  
"I'm right here Shane." A voice said from the screen. We looked and saw Vince on RAW.  
  
I left the ring. Something was going on. 'Whoever's on the other end, if you can hear me Vince is not there!' That wasn't Matt. Who was it?   
  
Damn it where was Vince? Wait a minute. I headed to the back. Probably a stupid thing to do but something was really wrong here. I was supposed to be keeping an eye on backstage. I went to the production truck and found it empty. Who was running the show? Then I realized something. We were no longer on the air.  
  
"Jeff! Michael! Amy! Anyone! We aren't on the air!" I said into one of the headsets.  
  
I went out of the production truck and walked back around. The wrestlers were all standing there not looking sure of what was going on.   
  
Ric told me that they locked HHH, HBK, and Rock into a locker room. The people who should be in the production truck were forced out but no one seems to know by who or where they went. The show was being held hostage. Turner Sports was going to kill Dustin or Shane. Speaking of which where was Dustin?  
  
All of the WCW wrestlers, Ric, Arn, Dean, Perry and I walked out to the ring.   
  
"There he is!" Reid Flair called pointing at the audience. We all craned our necks to see him. He was there sitting on one of the steps.  
  
"Get down here!" Shane demanded.  
  
Vince got up and walked down slowly. He grabbed a mic from Stephanie. "What's the matter Shane? I ruin Nitro? I ruin your surprise? For all that don't know, Nitro is no longer on TNT. But you can see it on TNN. Of course, they most likely figured that one out. Shane when are you going to realize nothing gets by me. I own part of Viacom. They told me what you were planning."  
  
"Fine I can make that announcement here. Dustin can you come out here?"  
  
Dustin Runnels music started playing. His daughter Dakota wrestled for WCW and was already in the ring. Dustin came down and handed Shane a piece of paper. I wonder what that was. No one told me about it. Then I saw what it was. It was a contract.  
  
"This piece of paper is a contract. When I handed over control to Dustin, I put in a clause that I could take the company back. Oh and Vinnie Mac something you don't realize. I've owned WCW since 2005."  
  
"What!" Vince took a step forward and several wrestlers got between him and Shane.   
  
Dustin handed over another piece of paper. "Here Dad." He spat out the word dad. "Is a copy of it. Now get off my show and take the trash with you." Stephanie didn't look one bit happy about that comment. "That includes Steph."  
  
They stormed out of the arena. "That felt good." He told me. "I've been wanting to do that for ten years." We followed the others to the back and found indeed that Vince and the others were gone. We also found the people that were in the production truck back in the truck trying to put Nitro back on the air. It seems that they were ordered out of the truck and into another room.  
  
I really hope my mother didn't watch Nitro. After the conversation yesterday I'm not sure who she'd kill me or Shane. 


	56. A Posse Reunion

Notes: I get to take a small break from writing next chapter. That's all Jules' doing.   
  
After the show, Shane was introduced to all the new wrestlers, which were over 90% of them. I just hung back and watched. Even though I was training to be a wrestler I really felt out of place. I didn't know any of them and Shane was being surrounded. I was just sort of standing outside of the big group. I wonder where the others went. I hadn't seen them since we left the ring. Oh wait I think I see Uncle Ric talking to Reid over there.  
  
"Shane!" Someone yelled. I turned around to see a man with graying blond hair come running up to Shane.  
  
"Rodney?" Shane asked sounding slightly confused. Then he smiled and hugged the man. Another guy about the same age as this Rodney came over. "Pete? Oh man. I've missed you guys."  
  
"Where you been Shane? It was like you dropped off the face of the planet." Pete asked.  
  
Shane sighed. "Long story. What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"Dustin hired us as referees not long after you disappeared. We were helping with some problem they were having backstage when you were in the ring. Someone told us you were here." Rodney said.  
  
"Or at least you didn't know he was here. I was the one who yelled into the headset that Vince wasn't on TV." Pete said with a slight smile. He looked at me. I now had the earpiece out and it was just hanging. "Ah so you were the one I told that to. I wasn't even sure if anyone was on the other end.  
  
  
  
"Yeah that was me. Thanks for the information."  
  
"No problem. Anything to help Shane." Pete turned back to Shane. "It was priceless to see the look on your old man's face when you told him you never stopped owning WCW. I've never seen him look so scared." He started laughing. "Good to see you Mac."  
  
They started talking about some stuff that sounded like it was from their childhood. Which didn't make sense but I guess it did to them. I started to walk away to find Uncle Ric and the others.   
  
"Danny?" A voice asked. I stopped walking and turned around to see a man in a wheelchair there. He looked vaguely familiar. I think I've seen him before but I don't remember a wheelchair.  
  
"Yeah?" I asked  
  
"I'm Matt Hardy." He said.  
  
Wow so this was Matt Hardy. I never really asked any questions about Matt though he was mentioned on Unsolved Mysteries. I knew he had been a wrestler. Now I remember where I'd seen him before. I watched a couple tapes of his matches while in the tape room at OVW. Some were of him teaming with his brother. They were an all right tag team.   
  
He saw me staring and smiled slightly. "Bet you were wondering how I ended up in a wheelchair." I nodded. "It happened in a match eight years ago in the WWE. It was the last Tables Ladders and Chairs match WWE would ever do. Heck I can't even remember whom we were wrestling. It wasn't even my idea to stay in WWE. But Jeff talked me into staying. But I do remember what happened. I was going for the tag belt when someone backed into the ladder. This wasn't supposed to happen by the way. The ladder tilted and I went flying. I completely missed the announce table and landed back first on the guardrail. Woke up with several broken vertebrae. Dustin had offered me a job in WCW working backstage and offered a commentating job to Amy. Jeff opted to stay in WWE. I haven't spoken to him since the night he decided to stay."  
  
I'd have to ask Erichson if maybe Matt really was another victim. 


	57. Resentment

Author's note: The TLC match referred to in both this chapter and the previous one is a match in 2010 between Rob Van Dam, Rhyno, The Dudleys (Bubba and D'Von) and the Hardyz for the WWF Tag team belts.  
  
This picks up right where Danny and Matt's conversation leaves off:   
  
"Matt?" a redheaded lady walked up to Matt Hardy with concern on her face. I recognized her instantly. Amy Hardy had come to watch and observe a few weeks ago right before I found out everything I know now. I heard something about her husband having been a wrestler at one time. I put two and two together and realized that Matt was her husband.   
  
"Hey, Ames," Matt said turning around and giving his wife a smile. "What's up?"  
  
"Just wanted to know if you were okay," she said giving her husband a kiss on the head. "I was worried when Vince came out there and said that WCW was off the air. I didn't know if they'd done something to you."  
  
"I didn't know if you were okay until Danny here told me you were," Matt answered her pointing at me. Amy gave me a small smile.  
  
"Well, I thank you very much for reassuring my husband," Amy said.  
  
"Look I'm going to talk to the rest of the production guys, see if they're all right and then I'm going to talk to Shane. Maybe find out what the hell is going on around here." Matt said rolling off in the direction of the production truck, which I now noticed had a ramp attached to it.   
  
'Good luck' I thought about Matt finding out anything from Shane. I almost forgot Amy Hardy was there until she spoke:  
  
"It hurts him," she said softly.  
  
"What hurts him?" I asked confused.  
  
"The fact that Jeff stayed in the WWF after his injury. I overheard you guys' conversation where Matt was telling you how he ended up in the wheelchair. Matt and his brother used to be so close. I think both of us thought that Jeff would leave when we both left for WCW. We both felt shocked and maybe a little betrayed when he told Matt he was staying in the WWF."  
  
"Yeah I think I how he feels," I said remembering the shock I felt seeing Megan in Triple H and Stephanie's office.  
  
"I don't know if Jeff stayed because he really wanted to or if he was resentful of me," it came out in almost a whisper.  
  
"Of you? Why?" I asked, curious now.  
  
"When I was wrestling, I'd wrestled under a variety of aliases. In the WWF I'd wrestled as Lita. Was known as the High - flying diva of the company because of my daredevil moves, which is how I'd eventually got put in a storyline with Matt and Jeff, both of whom I'd known for a long time. Even beat Stephanie for the women's title thanks to Shane and Linda's pushing for me."  
  
In 2002 I'd suffered a broken neck while filming a stunt for a guest appearance on a TV show, it's been so long I've forgotten the name of it and the show was canceled anyways. I had to go under an operation to fuse some of the vertebrate in my neck. It took me away from the ring for a year but I eventually recovered and was able to do pretty much everything I was able to do in the ring before."  
  
"Matt wasn't?" Dumb question Danny!  
  
Amy gave a sad smile of the one she'd given earlier. "They were able to fuse a few vertebrae to enable Matt to have upperbody movement but there was too much damage to his legs. Who knows, with they way science moves these days, maybe someday Matt maybe able to walk again, but for now, it's sadly not in the cards. I decided to retire after Matt's accident and move over to the commentator's booth. Matt's accident made me lose all passion for the ring afterwards so I don't miss it. I've been a commentator before, and plus Michael's good to play off of and funny."  
  
"So Jeff's resentful of you because your operation was able to allow you to return to wrestling and Matt's wasn't?" I asked, becoming more and more intrigued by the moment.  
  
"Who knows? He was becoming distant even before the accident. He'd left for awhile in 2003 and went on the indy circuit. Things were better after he came back for me and Matt's wedding on the special live SMACKDOWN New Year's Day in 2004. That wasn't long after Stone Cold Steve Austin's death and not too long before your Dad's death. Anyways things started getting strained again after your Dad's death, when me and Matt had first started entertaining leaving as part of the mass exudus that took place after the RAW memorial. Jeff was insistent that we stayed and I think Matt was afraid of losing his brother after Jeff had cut off everybody for about a year beforehand, so we eventually gave in and agreed to stay in the WWF. Things got better and it looked like Matt and Jeff were closer than before. Then came the TLC match."  
  
"Matt said he didn't remember what happened during that match, do you?" I asked wanting to know more.  
  
"Nobody's seen what exactly happened during that match, but I was watching the monitor and there was a spot between Devon and Rob with a Van Daminator when all of a sudden the sound of wood was heard and the camera came back and there was Matt laying next to the announce table, not moving. I ran out there, not caring that I was breaking kayfabe because I'd just turned heel at the time. I tried to get as close to Matt as I could without interfering with the paramedics. I was afraid because he was unconscious and not moving. Even though he had broken several vertebrae, I was relieved when he woke up a few days later. Jeff, Jeff was just so distant, almost as if he didn't care about what had happened," Amy shook her head, as if trying not to cry over something that had occurred almost a decade ago.  
  
"Amy?" A gravely voice broke into our conversation. Amy and I looked up to find a short haired man in a tank top and shorts.   
  
"Yeah Mike?" she answered. That must've been her broadcast partner, Michael Manna. I vaguely remember some people telling me he was called Steven Richards in public.  
  
"We need to get with Dustin and Shane, and see what the plan is for Orlando. Hell if I know anymore." Orlando was Thunder, I didn't know if Shane was going to show up there or not. I'd have to ask. I'd have to ask about a lot of things it seems.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right with you. Nice talking with you Danny," she gave a smile and went off in the direction Matt had gone.   
  
"Hold on I'll come with you. Shane's kind of my ride home so to speak," I went and followed Michael and Amy down towards where Shane, Matt and Dustin were.  
  
I had a lot of questions of my own for Shane and Erichson when we got back to Kentucky. 


	58. Leaving the Arena

As I was walking toward Shane, Justin Westman, who wrestled as Fire part of the newest formation of Fire and Ice and one half of the tag champs came up to me. He had been guest trainer a month ago with his tag partner Ice, Glen Silverman.   
  
"Hey Danny. I didn't know you were involved in this. How do you know Shane?"  
  
Oh boy. This was a difficult question. "Long story. I met him through Eddy." Which was the truth. Course I could thank Bischoff too but I wasn't about to tell Justin that.  
  
"Hey that's cool. From talking to the people who were here ten years ago, they are all glad Shane's back. Relieved too. Dustin's been a good boss. He's fair."  
  
I hadn't actually met Dustin. He's talking to some of the bookers and Shane, but his reputation speaks for itself. Most people compared him to his father. That was the OVW gossip anyway. They are always gossiping about both companies. But then again I guess that happens everywhere.  
  
He walked away saying he needed to talk to Glen about the tag match on Thunder. I continued walking over to Shane.   
  
"No I won't be in Orlando. I've still got a few things to take care of." Shane was saying. "Dustin I need you to keep being in charge of WCW. I just had to shake things up. Nothing changes guys. Not right now anyway."  
  
A kid that didn't look much older then Trevor came up to Michael. Michael walked away from the group but I could hear them. "Dad mom wanted me to tell you she's taking me and Belinda home."   
  
"Okay Louie I'll be there in a bit." He saw me staring at them and smiled.   
  
"I've got a brother about that age." I explained.   
  
"Ah. Louie and Belinda usually don't come to the shows. We have a nanny that comes with us on the road but she's got family here in Daytona Beach so we gave her the night off. But I miss having them backstage. I know Lisa Marie does too. She's my wife and wrestlers here as Victoria." I nodded as if I knew what he was talking about.  
  
Shane came over then. "Sorry to interrupt Mike but Danny and I have to go. Long drive back."  
  
"Good to have you back Shane."  
  
"Thanks good to be back." He called goodbye and we headed out of the Ocean Front Center.   
  
When we got to the car, Shane seemed to tense again. He made a phone call to the cabin. "Hey Owen? You guys saw Nitro? Yeah it went well with the exception of Vince showing up. Yeah we are coming there first thing in the morning. Probably stay the night in Louisville. Yeah put him on. Hi Eddy. He's fine and was a big help." He looked over at me. "Yeah probably. They talked. Yeah that'd work. I don't know. Okay see you tomorrow. Hi Marissa. They did? It didn't worry them did it? Yeah. What did you tell them? Oh boy. Guess we'll have to talk about it later. Give them a kiss for me. Love you too. Bye." He hung up and sighed. "She had to tell Andi and Wes that that was their grandfather on TV. They had a lot of questions."  
  
It was silent for awhile but I had to ask the question that was bothering me. "Matt and Amy told me about what happened to Matt but they both didn't seem to clear on what happened. Do you know?"  
  
He sighed again. "That was what I was talking to Eddy about. Remember I wasn't there so I didn't see it. But you can guess who got the tape that showed it. You can see it tomorrow. It's something Matt either doesn't remember or didn't see it. From what I hear it was another if you weren't in the audience you didn't see it. And Vince was pretty good at making videos disappear. But he always gave them to Eric. And he always pretended to destroy them. Vince trusted Eric, which was his mistake and good luck for us. But you can see what happened on the tape. I'm thinking of inviting Matt and Amy to the RAW in Atlanta."  
  
RAW was in Atlanta? Oh no! I know I was expected to go but I know this would be harder for me then Kemper. And my mom would find out sooner. I guess I'd have to get used to it. 


	59. How to Get In

Shane and I arrived at the cabin before noon the next day. We had spent the night at my apartment.   
  
When I walked into the cabin, Erichson was waiting with the tape. "Eddy told me that you talked to Matt and Amy about what happened to him. This tape should answer your questions. It's something I doubt Matt and Amy know. You can watch it in my room. It will be quiet in here. It's the second one on the left. I'll be outside if you need anything."   
  
I walked into the room. It was very clean. I put the tape into the VCR and sat in the desk chair.  
  
The tape reminded me of the one from Atlanta because it was only from one camera angle. It looked like a normal match and then it got to the point Matt and Amy told me about. Matt was climbing up the ladder. He was almost at the top. His hand touched the belt. That was when I saw Jeff. He was wrestling Buh Buh Ray Dudley. But for some reason Jeff backed into the ladder hard. I didn't even see what caused him to do it. I saw the ladder tilt. Matt went flying. I saw him crash into the barricade and lay there motionless. Jeff continued to wrestle not even turning to see if Matt was okay. Maybe he hadn't realized what happened. I saw Amy run out to see how he was. Jeff finally saw what happened and jumped out of the ring. The last image on the screen was Amy checking Matt's pulse with Jeff kneeling next to her.  
  
I left the room and found Erichson sitting on one of the couches. "You watch it?"  
  
"Yeah. Did Jeff do that on purpose?" I asked. It would go with what Amy said about what happened before during and after that night.  
  
He didn't say anything right away. "Yes. Jeff was jealous of Matt. Matt's career was going better. He had a successful gimmick and had a great girlfriend. Jeff was dating Trish but they weren't nearly as in love as Matt and Amy. Of course this is all based on what I've heard. Jeff left in 2003 trying to make himself a bigger star. From what Shane has told me, Jeff was a problem employee. He noshowed several times. He didn't come back to the WWF until Matt asked him to be best man in the wedding. Things seemed to be fine. Eric told us after Matt got hurt that Vince bribed Jeff into coming back by telling him he'd get a chance to take Matt out. Eric said he heard the conversation between Jeff and Vince two days after the accident. Jeff showed no remorse or regret. It probably is for the best that Matt and Amy don't know."  
  
"Amy said that she thought Jeff resented her because she had an operation to fix her broken neck and was able to return to the ring."  
  
"I'm not sure if that is the case but then again I don't know Jeff."  
  
The cabin door opened. Bret, Uncle Ric, Uncle Arn, and Athena entered the cabin. Neither of us mentioned the Hardy's. I hated keeping things from them but I had a feeling it was something that should remain until later.  
  
***  
  
Later that day my phone rang. Darn I should have turned it off. I looked at caller id and quickly went outside. She definitely didn't need to hear two certain voices.  
  
"Hello?" I asked.   
  
'Danny where are you?' Yep was definitely my mother. And yep I should have turned the phone off.  
  
"Kentucky." Well it's the truth. I just didn't tell her where.  
  
'I heard about Nitro.'  
  
How in the world did my mother find out? She hates wrestling! "How..."  
  
"Trevor was watching Nitro at Jaycee's house."  
  
Jaycee is my stepcousin or something. She's Jason's niece. She and Trevor get along great. They are roughly the same age. But I hadn't realized she was a wrestling fan. Okay now I definitely wish I had turned my phone off. I sat on the porch readying myself for what I knew was coming. "Oh? I didn't know she watched."  
  
'That's besides the point Daniel! Trevor said Vince was on TV and you two weren't that far from each other. I thought you said he'd be in Oakland.'  
  
"Well we thought he'd be. That's what the RAW schedule said. I was in no danger mom."  
  
'I thought you'd know better. Now I have to explain why you were on Nitro. I tried to keep you and him away from wrestling and this is what I get.'  
  
"You know maybe now would be a good time to tell him you were Woman." Probably not the best thing to say. I mean she probably didn't want my advice.  
  
'How'd you know that?' She demanded.   
  
How'd I know what? I wondered. Oh shit. She didn't know I knew about her career. "Oh um..."  
  
'Look Daniel I know you're eighteen but listen to me this once. Stay away from the WWE. I don't want to lose you like I did your dad.'  
  
Tears started to come. Mom I wish you knew that you didn't. "Mom can you call back late?" I was fighting to keep my voice steady.   
  
'Sure Daniel. Be careful.' She hung up.  
  
I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I just stared out at the trees.   
  
I felt a hand on my shoulder causing me to jump slightly. "Hey." Dad said.   
  
"Hey." I replied back.  
  
"You okay?"   
  
"Yeah." I lied.   
  
"You don't sound all right. Was that Nancy?" I nodded. He sat down next to me. "Bet it's hard to lie to your mother."   
  
I nodded again. "She said Trevor had watched Nitro and told her about. She also said to stay away from WWE because she didn't want to lose me like she lost you." I heard him sigh. "It's so hard not to tell her she didn't."  
  
"I know it must be. Your mother..." he stopped talking. I knew there was something he wanted to say but didn't. "She loves you and just wants to keep you safe. As do I."  
  
"If she knew I was going to the RAW in Atlanta..."  
  
"Yeah well even I don't like that. But it needs to be done. And I wish I could be there to see him taken down. But we'll be watching on TV here."  
  
I decided to change the subject. "Who's all going to be in Atlanta?"  
  
"Last I heard it was you, Shane, Matt, Amy, Eddy, Michael, Tammy, Athena, Ric, and Bret. Arn might go but I'm not sure. Anyway everyone's in the cabin plotting. Well with the exception of Matt and Amy of course. I think they are still trying to figure out how to sneak you and Shane into the building. Vince will most likely be on the lookout Monday even though Nitro's in Minneapolis. Was probably surprised that Shane wasn't in Orlando for Thunder."  
  
"Hey can you come in here a second?" Eddy asked from the doorway. "We are trying to talk about Monday."  
  
I followed dad into the cabin, which was pretty crowded. I took a seat on the floor allowing my dad the spot on the couch.  
  
"Okay two things we need to address. One is how we are getting Shane and Danny into Philips Arena. And second there's the business of our spy." Michael said.   
  
"A spy?" Bret asked. "You have a spy? Or someone's spying on you?"  
  
"We have a spy in Vince McMahon's office. He's been the one sending the tapes."  
  
"And stirring up trouble." Eddy added which gained him a glare from Erichson.  
  
"At any rate we thought you should know so you don't attack him Monday. It's Eric Bischoff."  
  
Uncle Ric's on his feet immediately. He looks like he's going to explode. About the reaction I expected. "Why would you work with that snake?" He yelled. "Eddy you know what he's like. What he did in WCW..."  
  
"Pales in comparison to what Vince has done believe me." Eddy said. "Personally it takes all I have not to strangle him."  
  
I looked over at Ric who didn't look like he was going to explode. But he looked mad.  
  
"I just can't believe you guys would willingly work with Bischoff. He's almost as big of a snake as Vince." Uncle Ric continued.  
  
"That may be so but without his overhearing Stephanie and Hunter Chris may not have survived the powerbomb." Erichson countered.  
  
Ric didn't say anything. He's probably still trying to take the new information in.  
  
"We've still got to figure out how to get Shane and Danny into Philips Arena. Now some feds and I will be in the arena as security guards. That disguise won't work for them since Vince probably would expect it. Any ideas?"  
  
"I think I know of an idea." Uncle Ric said. He was watching Andi play. It would be a disguise Vince certainly wouldn't be expecting. Shane and Danny could watch from the audience."  
  
"How?" I asked. The idea seemed impossible to me. To be in the audience? How could we possibly do that?  
  
"In drag." Uncle Ric said with a grin.  
  
"You'd be the expert on that Ric." Dad said laughing. Now that sounded like something to ask about later.  
  
"Drag?" Shane sounded as uncertain as I felt. "I don't know Ric."  
  
"Hey that could work! I'm sure between my clothes, Tammy's, and Athena's we can figure something out." Marissa said.  
  
I slid down further on the floor. I had a feeling arguing wasn't going to help. They had made up their mind whether I liked it or not. Jason always said that sometimes it's easier just to go along. 


	60. Atlanta

Why did RAW have to be in Atlanta? Yeah my mother wouldn't be watching RAW but this was like the time I had the idea to show up at Kemper. It could have a very bad omen to it. And why did I agree to this?  
  
I looked at my outfit. I was wearing a skirt and a blouse plus a wig and colored contact lenses. I sighed. I so do not look good in this. I will never hear the end of it.   
  
We were going to play it by ear. Wait and see if Vince came out. If he didn't come out by 10:00, we were jumping over the guardrail. So I hope that means Vince is coming out because I don't really want to deal with security. We had front row seats and colored contact lenses. We were completely incognito. I don't think my mother would recognize me.  
  
No Chance in Hell started up when the show started. Not only Vince came out but Stephanie, Linda, and HHH. I'd suppose nothing has changed in fourteen years. I was going to wait for Shane to make the first move.   
  
"My son." He said it with the same venom that Shane had said dad last week. "Has shown back up on TV. Saying he owns WCW. I had our lawyers look over it and yes Shane you still own it. But see I can take the company back. I do own part of it. And you, after all, were gone ten years. I let Dustin have it and kept an eye on it. You never knew what to do with a wrestling company." Shane was about to stand up but stopped. I think he knew what I knew. It wasn't time yet. "I'm a giving person Shane. You can keep the company."  
  
It's easy to talk big when you think Shane's in Minneapolis isn't it Vince? He was going on and on about the show. Shane almost had to nudge me awake when it was time to make our presence known. Security ran over to us as soon as we were over. I had no idea if they were actually security or the Feds. Shane said the one thing that got Vince's attention: "I still own part of this company!"  
  
"Who are you?" Vince demanded. "Owning stock does not give you the right to jump the guardrail."  
  
Shane took the wig off. Vince took a step back. I took my wig off. No way was I going to keep that on. It was too warm.  
  
Shane stepped into the ring. Hunter took a protective stance in front of them. I'll give him this much. Hunter may be in his fifties but he's still in good shape. "It's time this all ends. Vince does mom know what you did?"  
  
"Did what? Have a talk with Daniel? I don't think that was her business."  
  
"No I'm talking about what happened in this building fourteen years ago. Does she know what you, HHH, and Stephanie planned? Tell her Vince."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about! That was an accident."  
  
"Does she know about what you did to Owen Hart and Matt Hardy. Or Brian Lawler?" He continued. "Or for that matter Vince does she know about what you tried to do to me!"  
  
Linda took a step closer and grabbed the mic from Stephanie. "Shane what are you talking about?"  
  
"Ask your husband he knows!"   
  
"I have no idea what you are talking about. All of those were accidents!" He was hedging the topic about Shane. "As for you, it's just a company Shane."  
  
"Hold on a second Vince!" A voice said with a very thick New York accent. I turned around to see someone making his way over the railing. I looked at Shane who simply crossed his arms over his chest there was just a slight smirk on his face. "I'm tired of being quiet about it! Tell everyone what you did at Kemper 19 years ago Vince!" The people in the audience were actually silent. "It must have been eating away at you all these years like me. Course one has to have some kind of heart for that to be possible!"  
  
"Now hold on a second yourself Russo! You have no proof of anything. None of you do."  
  
Suddenly the payoff was shown on the Titantron. I couldn't even look at it. I turned to look at Vince McMahon who for once was speechless.  
  
Linda turned to her husband. "How could you?" She said.   
  
"Might as well tell her everything dad." Shane said.   
  
I knew what Shane was doing. We had to get him to admit to all of those. I think he eventually will.  
  
"They might know about Benoit!" I could hear Stephanie say to her father. "Do something!"  
  
"Shut up about Benoit!" Vince McMahon yelled. "That was your idea!"   
  
Bingo!   
  
"No!" I heard someone yell from somewhere behind me. I turned around to see Megan. She stepped onto the ring apron. I walked over to her. "Danny is it true?" I nodded. "You bitch!" She screamed at Stephanie.  
  
I think it dawned on Linda then. "You were going to have Shane killed?" Vince didn't say anything. "I can't believe this..."  
  
"I had nothing to do with what happened to Brian Lawler. Those were his drugs. He knew the rules against having it. As for the Matt Hardy thing." Vince said. "I had nothing to do with that! It was Jeff's idea!"  
  
Jeff Hardy looked up from his spot doing commentary with Al Snow when Vince said that. Jeff jumped up from his spot and dashed to the ramp. He was almost at the top when he stopped. Two people were there.   
  
"Where you going Jeff?" Matt asked rolling closer. "Afraid of your crippled brother?"  
  
Jeff started going backwards. Shane had filled them in on what he knew about the situation. He even showed them the tape. He said they were so shocked by it and were more then happy to come to Atlanta to confront Jeff.  
  
"I didn't believe it till I heard it myself. God Jeff. Were you that jealous of your brother? That you'd knock him off the ladder?" Amy asked.   
  
"No! I...I...I...don't know! Matt..."  
  
Matt rolled closer. "Why Jeff?"  
  
Jeff kept backing up. Activity in the ring had stopped as we watched them. Amy was walking behind Matt. "Matt it's not true. I wouldn't..." His voice trailed off as he probably realized that he was caught.  
  
I wonder who else is here. Suddenly music that even I have heard came over the loudspeaker. Vince went very white. Bret Hart made his way to ringside with Ric Flair.   
  
Things were about to get interesting. "All of security is fired!" Vince yelled.  
  
I leaned against the turnbuckles and watched as Uncle Ric and Bret entered the ring. Shane also moved back to give them room. Hunter ordered Stephanie to get out of the ring. Linda was over here standing next to Shane.   
  
Bret lunged at Vince. The strangest thing was that HHH didn't help his father-in-law as he was beaten up. But Uncle Ric went after HHH too. Security came down to separate them. I thought I caught a glimpse of Erichson.  
  
"Vince McMahon? You are under arrest..."  
  
I tuned him out. I watched Linda and Shane hug. I hugged my sister who apologized. The hard part was over.   
  
Or has it only begun? 


	61. Can't Talk You Out of It

Jules wrote this. The order after this chapter is a bit uncertain at the moment. Jules wants a lot of advanced warning ;) (Yeah she did something. I'm clean of that idea!)  
  
Everybody was backstage after RAW went off the air following Vince, Stephanie, Hunter, and Jeff getting arrested for 20 years worth of crimes. Vince was vowing that everybody would pay while Linda McMahon was muttering something about a divorce attorney. I have a feeling things were about to get a lot worse for Vince.  
  
Eric had stood by one of the tech areas, trying to look like he was minding in own business as Vince was being carted away by the police. After Vince was lead out of sight the man had a great big smile on his face. Given what little I know about the so - called "Monday Night Wars," I can imagine that Eric's very happy that Vince was going to jail.  
  
I was in one of the Lockerrooms trying to calm my sister down after the show ended. Not an easy task considering that she just found out that her 'Best friends' were behind the 'murder' of her father. I made a mental note to ask Dad about that. I know he doesn't want to cause trouble by revealing he's alive but I think Megan really needs it.  
  
  
  
"I feel like such a fool," my sister cried over my shoulder. "How could I have been lead to believe that Stephanie and Hunter cared about me? How could I have thought they were these great people? If I - God, I got to be the most shallow person on Earth right now don't? To befriend her own father's killers?"  
  
"Hey, hey, hey," I said, trying to reassure my sister, "You didn't know. None of us knew until recently. The McMahons are master manipulators. If that evidence had never been found, you'd have never known about Dad or what they were really capable of unless they decided you were no longer of use to them."  
  
"Danny's right Meg," Ric Flair spoke up coming into the room. He was flexing his hand a little, so I assumed he injured it slightly when he went after the McMahon's earlier in the evening. "Vince McMahon could talk a fish out of water and not make the fish realize that it needed water to survive. You did nothing wrong Megan. Just made a wrong choice about people. It happens to everybody."  
  
I wondered if Ric was talking about Megan's situation or his with Eric Bischoff. I've known for a long time that Mom, Dad, Uncle Ric, and Uncle Arn have had a passionate dislike for Eric. I've seen old videotapes and heard and seen the things the two have done and said to each other and know perfectly well what Ric Flair's opinion of the man who was once his boss has been for over a quarter of a century. Now I wondered if Uncle Ric's opinion might change given the revelations of the last month. Somehow doubt it'll change all that much.  
  
"But they killed Daddy!" Megan wailed. "How, even in heaven, could Dad ever love me after that! I'm a horrible person for befriending those monsters!"   
  
That was it. I was definitely talking to Dad about taking Megan to the cabin. She definitely needed to see and talk to him. I could see in Uncle Ric's eyes that he felt the same way.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me about this when you found out! Why didn't you tell me at Kemper?!" Megan cried.  
  
"I didn't want them to hurt you." I said ignoring Uncle Ric's glare, fully knowing he didn't know about my little misadventure of a few weeks ago. It was the truth so far as that went. I really DIDN'T know what the McMahons were capable of doing to my sister if I told her what I knew. I'm just glad it's almost over and that it was safe for her to start knowing this stuff.  
  
"If it helps, I put Stephanie in a sharpshooter," offered Athena who, along with her uncle, were just now entering the small lockerroom. I stood up as Athena was crouching next to my sister. I needed some fresh air and the conversation I knew Uncle Ric wanted to have was definitely something I wanted to put off for now.  
  
"I'm going to check on Eddy," I said heading out of the lockerroom, still ignoring Ric's stare. I'd just reached Eddy when his cell rang. I stayed quiet half hoping it was the cabin.  
  
"Hello? Yeah it's me. This really isn't the best time for me to be talking though. I'm not exactly in the safest of places." There was a pause as Uncle Eddy listened to what the other person was saying on the other end. My uncle got an amazed expression on his face.  
  
"What? Are you sure? I thought Chase said that after fifteen years - Yeah I'll get Eric and meet you guys in San Antonio. We've got to talk anyways. We'll see you in an hour. Bye," Eddy hung up the phone and nearly collided with me. He had a deer in the headlights look, similar to that at the cabin that first night when Dad found out I was the son he left behind fourteen years ago.  
  
"Danny, " Eddy began, "what do - "  
  
"So what's in San Antonio that's so important? And what's this about the man who faked my father's death saying about fifteen years?" I asked knowing nobody was around us at the moment so it was safe for me to ask that question. I'm pretty sure that the Chase he was talking about was the same Chase that faked my Father's and Owen's deaths. As it turns out I really really should've just walked away instead of asking those questions. But then again, questions are what got me into this mess in the first place isn't it?  
  
Eddy sighed. "How much did you hear?"   
  
"Enough to know that you and Eric are keeping something else from me."  
  
"Danny, this really REALLY has nothing to do with anything - " Eddy started to say.  
  
"The hell it isn't!" I said in a low voice that I think scared the shit out of Uncle Eddy. Maybe I am turning into my father. "The man that caused my family all the turmoil it's gone through and going through again is in San Antonio and maybe, just maybe I'd like to confront the Son of Bitch and ask him why he thought it was necessary to make the world believe that my Dad was dead!"  
  
Uncle Eddy bend his head to look at his shoes. I wondered for a minute if he was just going to walk away or knock me out to prevent me from following him. Finally with weary eyes he looked at me.  
  
"Come on, I don't have time to talk you out of this. We need to get Eric and get out of here. Hopefully we'll be back at the hotel tomorrow." Eddy said already heading toward the area backstage where, hopefully Eric was. "Eric's going to kill me," Uncle Eddy muttered.  
  
We found Eric looking over so me paperwork in another lockerroom set up as an office.   
  
"We need to get to San Antonio. Now" Eddy said getting right to the point.  
  
"Why, and why is he here?" Eric said looking past Eddy at me.   
  
"I got a call from Mark a few minutes ago. Chase thinks he may be about to wake up." Uncle Eddy explained. Something told me that the fifteen year thing was starting to make a little bit more sense, even though I had no idea what they were talking about, who Mark was, and who the 'he' that was waking up was.  
  
"Bastard always did have incredible timing didn't he?" Eric muttered. "Wait until after we've nailed Vince to make himself useful"   
  
"Yep, that he does doesn't he?" Uncle Eddy said with a smile that earned a glare from Eric.  
  
He closed his briefcase with a decisive snap and then looked at me.  
  
"I assume?" Eric started asking. Eddy nodded halting the question. I'm pretty sure I knew what he was asking anyways.  
  
Eric sighed. "There's no time to convince you to stay here. Let's go and let's go now."  
  
And that's how I came to go to San Antonio in the middle of the night, probably making Megan, Athena, and Ric stand on their heads worrying about me. 


	62. Another Surprise

Notes: Jules wrote this and we forgot a detail. Shane and Danny did change clothes before leaving Philips Arena  
  
We landed in San Antonio about midnight local time. I should've been thoroughly exhausted given what's already occurred, but I wasn't. After fourteen years I was finally going to meet the man who helped fake my Dad's and Owen Hart's deaths. I had a ton of adrenaline going through me anticipating that meeting. We drove around for several minutes before finding coming to a house on a wooded lot. Great, another cabin like structure. The last time I was at a cabin, I found out my dad was alive. I wonder what I'll find out tonight.  
  
"We're here," Eric said. I noticed for the first time that Eric Bischoff seemed fidgety, almost nervous about something. It was the first time in this whole thing that I saw any real emotion break through that cool facade from his.  
  
We got out and started walking out to the car. As we approached a stout man in his late fifties, maybe early sixties with short blond hair came out to greet us. I looked at him in shock. I recognized the man all right. He didn't come around too often but vaguely remember seeing him after my Dad 'died' I've also seen him in photos and videos with my father. The man was none other than Shane Douglas.  
  
"Glad you boys could make it here so soon," Shane said to Eddy and Eric, oblivious to who I was. Well, for a moment. He regarded me suspiciously when he saw me. "Who's the kid?"  
  
Eddy looked nervous, as if I might do something to the man. I decided to tell him who I was. "Daniel. Daniel Benoit. But I guess you'd have figured that out eventually 'uncle' Shane."  
  
The whiteness of Shane Douglas face was similar to what Bret Hart had before he collapsed in my apartment a month or so earlier. Fortunately he didn't faint.  
  
  
  
"Shit!" he finally said, then glared at Uncle Eddy. "Why the hell - "  
  
"He overheard me talking to Mark on the phone. I told you it wasn't exactly the safest time talk."  
  
Shane cursed again. Then he asked I figured he had to ask at this point. "How much does he know?"  
  
"After tonight? Everything more or less" Even if he didn't know anything at all before tonight, he would after RAW with the exception of what he's about to find out," Eric replied.  
  
Shane nodded. "Yeah we watched RAW. Would've been fun to be there personally to see Vince's ass carted off the jail. Listen Danny," Shane continued "When we get everything straightened out that we need to, I'll tell you about my involvement in this whole mess. And you can thank Eddy for involving me actually."  
  
Shane turned to Eric. "Bet you enjoyed that little moment in the ring?"  
  
"Highlight of my life so far," Eric said smiling. Then he sobered up. "Where's Chase?"   
  
"Inside with Mark, waiting for you guys," Shane said ushering us towards the house.   
  
"Uh, Danny - "Eddy started to say  
  
"Not on your life Uncle Eddy." I said knowing he was going to try to persuade me to stay outside and avoid a potential explosive confrontation with Chase. Not going to happen.  
  
We stepped inside to see a man with short dark hair sitting on the couch, looking intense as hell. He looked sort of familiar but my brain at the moment was on not on him. It was on the salt and pepper haired man that came from a back room.  
  
"Good, you guys are here. Wondering when - "   
  
Chase didn't get the chance to finish that sentence. That was because at that moment I decided to rush right to him and give him a punch that damn near knocked him out.  
  
"How could you!" I shouted. "How could you rip people from their families, make people think their loved ones were dead when they were really alive, huh?"  
  
The man on the couch shot up off of hit as soon as I punched Chase. Wow, he was tall. "What the hell - " he began to say.  
  
Eric sighed cutting him off. "Chase Meridian, Mark Calloway, meet Danny Benoit."   
  
Mark had a shocked expression at me when he heard my name, then glared at Eddy and Eric. "Seems like there's a few things you boys haven't told us yet," The man said.  
  
"It wasn't like we planned for Danny to find out. Blame Eric, he sent Danny the videotape of Atlanta and Danny tailed me and Shane to the cabin and well, figure out the rest," Eddy said tiredly.   
  
"By the way, avoid Bret Hart and Ric Flair for awhile Shane," Eric said to Douglas.  
  
"Shit! Does the whole fucking world know?" Mark asked in a loud voice that could almost wake the dead.   
  
"God, I hope not," Eric muttered moving to sit down on the couch and putting his head in his hands.  
  
Chase sat down on the opposite couch. "I'm sorry," he said.  
  
"Sorry doesn't keep my Mom from finding out the guy she married 11 years ago really isn't her husband," I said shooting death glares at Chase.  
  
Uncle Eddy had a pained expression on his face, as if he was just remember all the complications that lay ahead now that Vince was jailed.  
  
"Tell us about Steve, Chase?" Eric asked looking very weary.  
  
Who's Steve?  
  
"His vitals are getting stronger and his brain activity is shows less of a state of coma but rather a state of semi - REM sleep. He could wake at any time." Chase explained.  
  
"I thought you said given his injuries at the time of the fall, that it was impossible that he'd ever wake up," Eddy said confused.  
  
"I said unlikely, not impossible," Chase said. "I've been in the medical profession way too long to dismiss anything as impossible."  
  
Eric sighed again. Eddy and Eric seem to do that a lot.   
  
"Hell of a time to play out the end of Sleeping Beauty, Austin," Eric muttered.  
  
Waitaminute! Austin? As in...  
  
"You guys aren't talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin are you?" I had to ask.  
  
Five pairs of eyes looked at me. I've been getting those kinds of looks a lot in the last couple of months.  
  
The tall man gave me a slight smile. I finally recognized him as another of Vince's former employees. He wrestled for Vince under the name of Undertaker.  
  
"Kid's smart. Of course he'd have to be to tail you to the cabin." He said. "What do you know about Austin?"  
  
"Just what little I remember my Mom and Dad telling me before you guys faked Dad's Death," I said sitting down in a chair. "My dad came home when I was three from a PPV and looked like he'd been crying. I remember Dad telling Mom that Steve Austin died and Mom gasping. Remember me and Tatem going to his funeral. And Dad talking about him when I asked who he was. Said he was one of the top guys in the WWF until Jeff Jarrett killed him."  
  
"Your dad was half right about that," Eric said. "Get comfy because this is a semi long story."  
  
"Back in 2003, I helped Vince make a deal with another promotion, NWA - TNA. They were a PPV only operation and I thought I could help them out by giving them some exposure for their product. It was run by this man named Jerry Jarrett, his son Jeff was the NWA champion at the time. Hell, he may still be, I don't keep up with that company anymore."  
  
"Jeff and Steve never liked each other and Steve had just unified the brand titles at SummerSlam. Everybody thought it would be really something if the two faced each other in a match at Survivor Series which was taking place that year at Joe Louis Arena. Neither Jeff nor Steve were exactly thrilled about the match, but were willing to put aside their differences and work the program if it would benefit both companies in the end."  
  
"I got tipped off that something wasn't right when Vince made the match a scaffold match and Jeff was enthusiastic for it. No wrestler in his right mind wants to wrestle in that type of match. It's the most dangerous match in existence, even more dangerous than Hell in a Cell. No offense Deadman." Eric said looking at Mark.  
  
"None taken," The man known as the Undertaker quipped.  
  
I nodded even though Eric hadn't addressed me. I was well aware of Scaffold matches and their dangers. I pretty much knew where this conversation was going. There was a reason why Scaffold matches haven't been performed in fifteen years.  
  
"Anyways, I decided one night to eavesdrop on Vince, to find out why the hell he'd put Steve and Jeff in that kind of match. Turns out Jeff wanted to get back in Vince's good graces after he held the Intercontinental title hostage before he left the company four years earlier. He was willing to help Vince create another 'accident' to get rid of a problem for Vince. See Austin walked out on the company in mid 2002. He returned in February of 2003 - "  
  
"And you've borne the bruises of that ever since," Shane quipped earning a glare from Eric.  
  
"Anyways," Eric said, not missing a beat. "Steve returned in February of 2003, but his relationship with Vince was strained to say the least. No one every figured out exactly why Steve left in the first place, although I have my suspicions. As soon as I found out that Jeff and Vince were in cahoots, the scaffold match and Jeff's reaction to it made sense. Dangerous sense."  
  
"I let Eddy know what was going down and he called Chase. Unfortunately it was a day before Survivor Series, so we were cutting things close. Unfortunately things didn't go as well for Steve as it did for your dad and Owen."   
  
Eric closed his eyes before continuing. "The match took place as planned. During the match the scaffold gave way and tilted to one side, which was NOT planned. Both men were barely holding on to the edge of the scaffold. Jeff found a railing and while he was reaching to grab it, 'inadvertently' kicked Austin in the head sending Austin a good 20 - 30 feet to a concrete floor. Me and Eddy both thought Austin was dead, even with Chase there. As it was, Steve almost didn't survive the night."  
  
I nodded again. Though I'd never seen the match the facts what had happened that night were not unknown to me and my father had been at the arena when it happened.  
  
"A couple of weeks later we moved him here. We being Shane, Eddy, and myself. See, Danny, this house IS Steve's. Nobody's lived here since his funeral. Well, we've made everybody believe that nobody's lived here for fifteen years. His injures from that fall were so extensive that none of us thought Steve would ever wake up, but we didn't want Vince to know he was alive and try to finish the job. I'll never underestimate Vince's capacity to finish a task, even murder."  
  
"I don't understand something," I asked. "If you knew that Vince had caused this, then why the hell didn't you say something about it on RAW tonight?"  
  
"Fair question," Eric said. "Don't ever underestimate Vince's intelligence either. He made it so that if came out that what happened to Steve wasn't an accident that I'd take the fall for it.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"By letting me be the one to make the deal, I was ultimately the one that had the most contact with the Jarretts. Officially, Jeff and Vince never met up with each other that whole time before Survivor Series. Of course now you know the truth. But Vince could easily say since there was no other witnesses save for one to that meeting Jeff and Vince had, that I paid Jeff to kill Steve and not Vince. And given my past with Steve, people would be more inclined to believe Vince on that score. Plus, with Vince 'evidence' has a habit of turning up even when your not guilty of something."  
  
That made sense. Made me wonder what Vince would've done with me and Athena if he hadn't gotten busted tonight.  
  
"Russo apparently knew and told me tonight before he was carted away he'd tell everybody about that conversation between Jeff and Vince plus the bank account Vince sent Jarrett the money. We'll see," Eric snorted. "The man definitely is going to broker every deal he can in this."  
  
Well, this was more than I bargained for. Then again this whole mess was more than I bargained for.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
Everybody talked for quite a lot longer, about a lot of things but nothing that really said how they got involved in all of this. I would have to ask. I was especially curious on how Shane got into it.  
  
I excused myself to go to the bathroom. They looked like they were going to get into an argument about how stupid Uncle Eddy and Eric were to let me stumble onto this and endangering everything.  
  
I walked down the hallway Chase came from when we came in and opened a door at the end. I had to know for sure. Curiosity also got me into this mess as well.  
  
I saw a lone figure in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines and a lot of wires and tubes. The man was bald and had his eyes closed. Without a doubt I knew that this man used to be Stone Cold Steve Austin. I've never seen anybody in a coma before and it kind of weirded me out. I looked at the machines but because my knowledge of medicine was jackshit, I couldn't make out what the machines were doing.  
  
I turned towards the window which was now being pelted with raindrops. I wondered how was it that such a simple question: "What happened to my father?" could lead to everything that I'd seen and learned the last few months. I'm not sure anybody would believe me if I'd told them. Well, if I told them before the trial that was sure to be coming for Vince and his cohorts.  
  
Sighing I turned to leave the room, hoping nobody would yell at me for coming in here. As I turned around I noticed that the formerly still figure was looking right at me with intense blue eyes. The glare coming from those eyes made me a little bit intimidated.  
  
"W- Wh- Who the, h-hell, are you?" the man struggled to say in a horse voice. Even though it was scratchy from disuse it left no doubt that he wasn't happy.  
  
I think this was the first time in this whole affair that I actually felt like freaking out. I'm pretty sure I nearly creamed my pants at seeing somebody who'd previously been in a coma suddenly talk to me.  
  
"Uh," began, heading back into the Austin living room. "I think somebody better get in here." I said, letting the people in there know that Stone Cold Steve Austin had made his first step back into the land of the living. 


	63. Worry

Notes: hope Jules doesn't mind I ended the chapter there. Athena's POV takes place between the events of 61 and 62.   
  
We were sitting in the back. Megan had calmed down some but she was a wreck. I don't know her too well and am wondering where the hell Danny went off to. Ric had gone to look for him but hadn't come back. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Eddy in awhile either.   
  
I had been in the back during RAW with Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. They were waiting to see if they'd be needed. The show had gone well. Though Shane said it was far from over. Something about there were a few other things that they still had to nail Vince on but he wouldn't say what. Obviously, there was still some stuff they weren't telling us.  
  
I looked across the room. Linda and Shane had been talking nonstop. She had apologized to Matt for what happened to him and apologized to Danny earlier for what happened to his father. But she didn't know who I was so I didn't get to talk to her, which was okay.   
  
Ric came over to us. "Looks like they left." Ric said. "To where I don't know. No one seemed to see them leave."  
  
"Ric what if Vince..." Megan started to say. That was what I was wondering too. For all we know there could still be Vince's cronies around here too.  
  
"I'm going to go ask Shane if he has any idea." Ric said walking away. We watched him talk to Shane who just shrugged. I surveyed the backstage to see if anyone else wasn't present. There was Matt and Amy talking and laughing with someone I had been introduced to earlier Shannon Moore who still wrestled with the WWE. He was a friend of both the Hardyz I think?   
  
But everyone still seemed to be present. Wait a second...where'd Bischoff go? Danny had told me a few things about him and he seemed to be in this too seeing, as he was the tape sender. So now there are three people missing.  
  
I think now is the time to worry.  
  
"Hey Ric you got a cellphone?" I asked.   
  
"Yeah." He handed it over. First I tried Danny's cell but there wasn't an answer.   
  
"Megan you need a ride home?" Ric asked.  
  
"Yeah. My ride just left in a police car." She said sadly. I feel bad for her even though I don't need it.  
  
I was about to hand the phone back to Ric but he waved it away. "I'll get it from you later." They left the room. I tried to call the cabin next after making sure there wasn't anyone within earshot. This was really worrying me. They just up and left and now Danny weren't answering his cellphone. Why wasn't he answering it? Finally someone picked up at the cabin.  
  
'Hello?' Damn it was Chris.  
  
"Hi it's me. I have a question. Were Danny and Eddy heading to Kentucky after RAW?"  
  
'No why?"  
  
Oh boy. "No one knows where they went."  
  
'What?! What do you mean no one knows where they went!' I had to hold the phone away from my ear. And that's why I hadn't wanted to talk to him.  
  
"Danny said he was going to check on Eddy and I haven't seen him since."  
  
I heard some yelling and then a different voice on the other end. 'Athena? What's wrong?' It was dad.  
  
"Danny and Eddy are missing."  
  
'Well that explains it. Damn are you guys sure? I wouldn't put it past Vince...' dad didn't need to finish that sentence.  
  
"Yeah I know. And Ric looked everywhere. But they seem to be gone. Oh and Bischoff's gone."  
  
'I wonder.' I heard some whispering on the other end. 'I have to go. Call us back when you see them. Bye.'  
  
"Bye dad. Love you."  
  
'Love you too.' Click.  
  
I wasn't any closer to answers then I started with. I wonder what they were whispering about? I better find Uncle Bret. He should know about this. I found him standing in the back talking to a few of the agents that he obviously knew. Also there was Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn.  
  
"There you are. We were wondering where you and Danny went." Uncle Bret said.  
  
"I was on the phone." I said. Not too sure announcing Danny and Eddy were missing was a good idea in front of all these people.  
  
"You seen Danny?" Perry asked.  
  
"Uh no. Not in awhile."   
  
"Where is he?" Dean asked.  
  
"I don't know."   
  
"Excuse us a second Michael." Uncle Bret said to the agent that was still there.   
  
We stepped away from them. "What do you mean you don't know?" Dean asked.   
  
"He and Eddy are gone." I said nervously. I hope they don't explode.   
  
"Hey guys." I turned to see Shane coming up from behind us. "I don't know where they are but I was just talking to a couple of people. They are going to make a phone call tomorrow about it. But I'm sure they are okay." Shane didn't even try to hide the fact that he was lying.  
  
"Are you sure that's not chancing it?" I asked knowing whom he meant.  
  
"Not really. If they are there they'll call me. Let's go back to the hotel. There's not much more we can do tonight." 


	64. Talk With Shane

We decided not to go back till morning. We were all tired. And I was left trying to comprehend another shock. Wow to walk in and see Austin wake up. I didn't go back in I figured it'd be better for them to explain it to him without me complicating things.   
  
However I wasn't too tired to talk to Shane. He and I were in his room where I would be sleeping. There were two beds in it.   
  
"Bet you never thought you'd find all this out did you?" He asked as soon as we were settled.   
  
"I'm still trying to figure out how just asking what happened to my dad revealed all of this."  
  
"I bet you are. I'm still trying to figure that out when it comes to me! Anyway I said Eddy got me into this right?" I nodded. "Eddy had gotten in a serious car accident on January 1 1991. He was out of wrestling for months. He messed up his leg in the accident. This was back when we were all friends. I talked to him a lot during the time he was recuperating. I remember him calling me one time he said he needed to talk to me. I was recovering from about my zillionth shoulder injury and wasn't wrestling either. He said he was backstage at one Nitro and overheard Hall and Nash talking about Over the Edge and that there would be one less Hart. This was back in April! He said he had gone to the authorities and was talking to a few people. You know that cabin in Kentucky? That's my cabin."  
  
Well that did make sense. But it didn't quite answer my questions. But he continued.  
  
"So anyway Eddy and I were both watching the PPV at the hotel we were staying at in Kansas City Missouri. We watched Chase as he checked Owen. We weren't sure if Owen survived the fall and were relieved to find out that Owen was checked into North Olathe Medical Center under an assumed name. Eddy went there while I flew to Kentucky to set things up for Owen. We thought it would look strange if both of us entered the hospital. We took Owen there when he was released from the hospital. Erichson stayed at the cabin and both Eddy and I dropped by every once in awhile to see how he was. That went fine until January of 2000. You ever hear about what happened then?"  
  
"Mom talked about it once on why my dad went to the WWF in the first place. Said something about Dave being in charge of booking."  
  
"Ah yes Dave and Mike. Well they were trouble. Dave wanted to give your dad the world title and make him lose it in three months to of all people, Goldberg. Now see Chris got all of us together when Russo was removed from head booking. Bischoff hadn't been in charge for months. Some asshole named Bill Busch was. So we went and talked to Busch and he told us he'd think about it and you hear about the walkout?" I nodded. "Anyway we got our release papers and were trying to figure out where to go. Eddy told me he was going to WWF to try to keep an eye on Vince. But I could not persuade the others to not go to WWF. When they signed with Vince, I made it look as if I wanted nothing to do with them when in actuality I was still working with Eddy. If only we had known what Vince would do in 2003."  
  
He got up to get a glass of water and got me one too before continuing. "What happened in Detroit wasn't the only thing Vince pulled that year. No I don't mean he tried to kill someone and this was at a houseshow. We really should have thought Vince was up to something when he announced that we were doing a show in Oregon for the first time in ten years. Oregon has a strict drug testing law for wrestling and boxing. Well I don't know, and I don't think we'll ever know, if Vince was starting to get suspicious of Eddy or not but someone planted Heroin and Marijuana in Eddy's bag. Now back then Marijuana was still a schedule one drug. And even though it was legal in Oregon for medical reasons, Eddy of course didn't have one. He swears up and down, and I believe him, that he didn't use Heroin at all that night or any time before that. Well Vince had someone doctor the test because they found Heroin in his system. He was suspended three months because Vince said he believed him." He snorts. "That's Vince for you. Plant it but make it look like you are a good guy."  
  
"Like he did Brian Lawler right? Shane mentioned it tonight when he was trying to get Vince to say something."  
  
"Just like Brian Lawler. Vince was getting even with Jerry. Though that was easy to do I guess. Brian looked like the kind of guy who did speed. And he might have but he didn't have it on him that day in Canada. Anyway, Eddy spent his time going back and forth between El Paso and Kentucky. Kid something you need to know his wife knows about this, as does Sara and mine. Yeah probably was a bad idea but we had to tell them something. And things were going really smooth until we found out about Survivor Series. If we only had more time to try to fix that. But thank God, Steve had survived. After that, I stayed in Texas with a nurse that Chase knew that could be trusted. Things went smoothly until May. We knew something was up when Vince decided to hold a special Saturday PPV on May 23. But when we found out it was your father..."  
  
He stopped as if trying to figure out how to say this.  
  
"When we found out what Hunter and Steph had planned for your father we acted fast. This time we could keep it from ending that way. And well Goldberg knew just making it look real would get him accidental manslaughter. But it nearly broke my heart when Eddy told me about how happy your father was. He said he just wanted to get through the match because he was going to spend all Sunday with you and Tatem. However, that was all shattered in an instant. Chris told you his side of it right?" I again nodded. "Well that's basically what happened. Chris went to stay in Kentucky and we resumed things the way it had been. Except I made my return to the WWF ring against Ric Flair and Eddy retired from the sport. And everything went smoothly until today. Mark'll tell you his side later I'm sure."  
  
We talked awhile longer but we both were exhausted. When I woke up again my cellphone was ringing. I reached for it groggily hoping not to wake Shane. "Hello?"  
  
'Danny what happened last night? I have just seen the paper!'  
  
"Mom?" I asked groggily. I'm operating on about two hours of sleep.  
  
'You are on the front page! Or I believe it's you since you are wearing a dress!'  
  
"Front page of what?"  
  
'The newspaper! I just read the article. It says that Shane McMahon and an unknown man jumped the railing at Philips Arena in drag. That you confronted Vince about Owen and Chris' murder! That Vince paid Vince Russo to kill Owen. That Hunter and Stephanie were behind Chris' murder!'  
  
Oh no. I was now wide-awake. "It made the paper?"  
  
'Front page. What the hell were you thinking?'  
  
I'm thinking I really should have turned my cell off. "Um we nailed Vince."  
  
'I can see that. I'm coming over.'   
  
Great just great. "Um I'm not in Atlanta."  
  
'You are back in Kentucky?'  
  
"No Texas."  
  
'Texas! What in the world are you doing there?'  
  
"Uh long story. I'll call you when I get back to Atlanta. Love you."   
  
She sighed. 'Love you too. Bye Danny.' I quickly hung up. 


	65. Talk With Mark

Notes: Jules wrote this. We don't have anything definite right after this so it might take us a bit for 66.  
  
After getting that rude awakening from my Mom, I figured I wasn't getting anymore sleep. I went into the kitchen to get some coffee. I saw Mark in the kitchen already sipping on a cup and reading a local newspaper. Sure enough me and Shane in drag was splashed on the front page. I'm so going to get ribbed when if I ever get back to OVW. Hell Megan, once she gets over Steph and Hunter's betrayal will probably rib me enough to last a lifetime.  
  
"Well, last night's little adventure made some national headlines. First time wrestling's made the headlines in awhile," the man known as the Undertaker said. "suppose I'll get a call from JR or somebody later."  
  
"At least what was on the air last night," I muttered. I decided upon looking at the photo that I did NOT look good in a dress.   
  
Mark must've seen the look on my face at seeing the photo for he had a smirk on his face.  
  
Mark chuckled. "Ask your dad about the time Chris Irvine put your Dad's picture ontop of a wedding dress sometime." I nearly choked on my own coffee at that.  
  
"I'm not sure I really want to know," I said.  
  
"Bet you do want to know how I figure into this huh?" Mark said in a somewhat quieter voice.  
  
"The thought had crossed my mind."  
  
"Shane tell you his story?" I nodded. "Guess it's time I told you mind then." Undertaker folded the paper and looked at me straight in the eyes. Like Austin's his stare was kind of intimidating.  
  
"Now, I came in relatively late into this story. It'd been at least seven years since Owen died and by then everybody believed that your Dad and Steve were dead as well. I'd quit the sport after that Scaffold match and was living a very good retirement with Sara and our children in Houston. Then one day I went to Steve's house."  
  
"Don't know why I visited there. Guess I just had the urge to visit, maybe pay homage to a friend long gone or something like that. Well, when I was pulling up I saw another car parking in the driveway as well. And it was emphatically NOT Debra Austin's car or Steve's old truck, which is in the garage, probably gathering dust."  
  
"Mind you I knew that Debra had more or less moved out after Steve's funeral. I also knew that Debra hadn't mentioned to neither me, JR or Sara about anybody moving into that house nor selling the home. So I hung back, to see who was in that car and why they were there."  
  
I gave a small nod. The story sounded very similar to how I stumbled on to my Father and Owen being alive. I let Mark continue.  
  
"Now, imagine if you will, my surprise when I saw Eric Bischoff and Eddy Guerrerro come out of the car and head for the door. It only got worse when Shane Douglas came out to meet them. Now as far as I knew, Eddy and Shane hated each other and Eric never had a good relationship with either of them. So seeing them at Steve's, well, I saw red."  
  
"I got off my hog, and barreled towards the door before Shane could close it. I think he was more surprised that I was there than thinking about anything else at the moment."  
  
"Aint that the truth," Shane said shocking me since I'd been so interested in listening to Mark talk. "I think I nearly shitted myself when you put your foot in the door."  
  
Mark gave a smirk, "Well after yelling at him I went to search the house to find out where Eddy and Eric were. First place I looked was where Steve and Debra's old bedroom was. Door was unlocked and I stormed in there to see Chase standing over a friend I'd thought died from a 20 - 30 foot fall who was lying motionless on a bed. Kid, I've only fainted twice in my life. The first time was right then and there."  
  
I could imagine. I wondered what Uncle Dean would've done that night in OVW if he'd realized then that really WAS my Dad who he'd encountered. Probably what Mark did.  
  
"When I came too I'd almost dismissed it as a dream. Well, until I went into the room again. It took everything I had not to pass out again. Then the phone rang. When I snatched it out of Eddy's hand, I thought he was going to have a stroke right then and there. Turns out I was the one that nearly had the stroke."  
  
"Let me ask you something. If you'd never gotten that videotape, and the phone rang and your Dad was on the other end of the line, what would you have done?"  
  
I'd never thought about it. I mean though I'd been shocked to see my Dad alive at the cabin I'd had some minor warning seeing the tape of that match in Atlanta. I honestly don't know what my reaction would've been if I hadn't had any warning.  
  
"I don't know" I shrugged.  
  
Mark gave another smile. "Smart kid," he said, "well I put the phone in my ear and Owen's voice was speaking, wondering what the heck happened to Eddy. Well, for the second time in my life and the last 20 minutes I passed out."   
  
I could imagine. To have two such shocks such as learning two people you knew were alive could probably have that kind of impact.  
  
"Well, Eddy, Shane, and Eric had a lot of explaining to do when I came to again. They told me the whole story to that point. Remember it was 2006. Shane hadn't felt the need to disappear then. That's when I learned your Dad was also alive. They decided not to make me learn the hardway on that one."  
  
"They detailed Vince's crimes from about 1999 to about the point where I'd found out things. They asked me to keep things a secret and I agreed on the condition that I get to tell Sara. She's one of the few I trust and I knew she'd keep things underwraps. I was also concerned about what happened to her if Vince ever found out and I didn't want her blindsided by something should the worst happen. Plus I figured Steve needed somebody around that was familiar when he woke up and started wondering what happened. Wouldn't have been a pretty picture if Eric was the one there if he'd woken up for example."  
  
Given what I was told about Eric and Steve's past last night I could only imagine what would've been running though Steve Austin's mind seeing Eric Bischoff at the foot of his bed.  
  
"Me and Sara stayed here for a couple of weeks when Douglas called and said he needed to get Shane and Marissa to the cabin. Said Vince was planning their murders." Mark shook his head. "The things that man wouldn't stoop to. Well, at least it's almost over."  
  
"I've had few regrets about the decision to keep this a secret from everybody. I don't doubt Vince would've either finished the jobs he started or gone after your family or Steve's or Owen's. Hell we think he paid Goldberg to end Bret's career. Wouldn't have put much else past him."   
  
I know Bret didn't know that part and almost hoped he didn't find out about that part.  
  
"The one major regret I've ever had about keeping this a secret was when Mick Foley died last year without ever knowing his friends were really alive. I really hope the guy found peace in heaven somehow." Mark looked downcast at his coffee mug as did Shane Douglas.  
  
It suddenly made me realize that Steve Austin was while, aware that fifteen years of his life had gone by without him in it. He didn't know specific details. He didn't know about WCW and WWF both being in existence, he didn't know about the friends who'd died while in a coma. I wondered if the man would be able to handle it.  
  
I also wondered if they told him about Owen yet. I know for a fact that my dad died six months after they faked Austin's death so it wasn't going to take too much for them to tell Steve about what Hunter and Stephanie Helmsley had planned for my father. I wondered how Steve would take learning about Owen being alive.  
  
The phone rang, breaking us all out of our reverie. We heard a very loud voice say: "It's my house I'll answer it!"   
  
No doubt that the voice belonged to Stone Cold Steve Austin.  
  
"Shit!" Mark exploded jumping out of his chair as were me and Shane.  
  
"Pay up Deadman," Shane said  
  
"Yeah yeah," Mark said annoyed.  
  
"We found Steve sitting in the living room, almost yelling into the phone.   
  
"Hello? Hello? I know somebody's there I heard something thud or something?"   
  
That was when one of us decided to get the phone out of Steve's hands before he made the situation worse.  
  
I got handed the phone after it got taken away from Steve by Mark. Shane was muttering something about deadman paying up and thank goodness Austin didn't have all his strength back yet. I put the phone to my ear.  
  
"Hello?" I asked into the phone.  
  
"Danny?" Owen Hart's voice answered me. "What the heck are you doing in San Antonio and why the hell is your father passed out on the floor?"  
  
Two things passed through my mind just then: Was my Dad all right, pretty sure I knew what had caused him to pass out, and thank goodness Owen wasn't the one that called.   
  
I took a breath and took the cordless in the kitchen to explain the rest of the night's adventures to Owen after me, Eddy, and Eric left RAW. 


	66. A Talk Over Breakfast

Note: This was written by Jules who adds: I figured I should show that just because these people have been forced to work together, not ALL the grievances and problems have disappeared overnight. Dana will probably explore this further in a future chapter *G*  
  
Athena's POV:  
  
Uncle Bret, Ric, Shane, and me were having breakfast in a tense mood. We invited Danny's sister Megan to join us, but she declined. I think it was because of her embarrassment over what she found out last night and her former affiliations with the Helmsleys. Plus nobody still knew what happened to Eddy, Eric, and Danny after they left last night and Shane had called the cabin last night and was told they weren't there. Shane said those at the Cabin would check something out and call Shane back. I asked if that was risking it, and Shane said, "Not really." I'm worried. Where the hell could they have gone?  
  
Ric Flair was obviously not happy with the thought that Danny had gone with Eric and Eddy. More specifically, he wasn't happy that Danny had gone with Eric Bischoff.   
  
"That bastard better not have done anything to Danny," Mr. Flair muttered under his breath several times during the meal.  
  
Uncle Bret finally had enough. "Look Ric," My Uncle sighed, "I know Eric did some things to you in the past and I'm not going to defend him for what he's done in the past or say he's some sort of saint but I do know that he wouldn't hurt Danny."  
  
"I agree with Bret," Shane spoke up, "I know given everything he'd done to ruin the WWF, that he's not some sort of angel or anything but he's not that bad of a person. You just have to trust that Danny's fine with him and Eddy. He's certainly not the psycho my father is," Shane muttered that last.   
  
I wonder how he deals with it. It certainly has to suck to know that your father, sister, and brother - in - law are megalomaniac killers.  
  
"Yeah, well," Ric started to say, and I was wondering if a fight was going to break out at the table when Shane's phone rang.  
  
Shane looked around to see if anybody could hear his end of the conversation. We were in a pretty remote corner and there was nobody around to hear us. He'd already waived off the waitstaff as soon as our orders were served.  
  
"Hello?" Shane said. "Yeah Owen, what's up? They are? Well, that's good. Why they hell though, did they - " Shane cut himself off apparently listening to what was obviously my dad on the other end. His eyes suddenly got round as saucers and looked pretty comical. "What? Are you sure? Absolutely positive? Again? Yeah, true enough." Shane chuckled.  
  
"Shane," Ric Flair said in a low tone. He had a serious expression on his face. "Can I talk to Chris for a second? I need to talk to him about something."  
  
"Yeah hold on," Shane answered, turning back towards his cell phone. "Ric needs to talk to Chris, is that okay? No, not yet. Okay." Shane handed his phone off to Ric.   
  
"Mind if I take this to my room?" Ric asked, obviously this was going to be a private conversation.  
  
"Me and Marissa are in 345," Shane replied as a way of answering, "by the way, Danny, Eric and Eddy are fine. They should be back in Kentucky by tonight."  
  
Ric nodded getting up from the table talking into the phone. "Hey Chris? It's Ric. I need to talk to you. It's about Megan.." His voice trailed off as he left the dining area.  
  
I wondered for a moment if Ric was taking a big chance addressing Danny's father by name into the phone. Then I remembered about what Cam told me once about how during his father's time and even through the here and now that the name Chris was a common name among wrestlers. So I guess that Ric knew a lot of Chrises and that anybody that passed him by would assume that he was talking to a Chris, just not a Chris that was dead.  
  
I turned to Shane McMahon. "Well?" I asked wanting to know just what he and my Father were talking about.  
  
"Eric and Eddy had to take an unexpected trip last night and took Danny with them. Seems they had some out of the blue good news that may help us further with Vince. I've got to talk to Marissa and Mom. I'll see you guys in a few minutes," With that Shane got up and left the meal. 


	67. While You Were Sleeping

Notes: We are back in Texas now. Dana wrote it and of course it's from Danny's POV. This takes place after chapter 65 ended.  
  
While You Were Sleeping  
  
I hung up the phone with a sigh. It seemed our disappearing act had caused a panic at the cabin and backstage at RAW. We didn't exactly have time to tell anyone we were leaving and I didn't even know why we were going to San Antonio at the time.   
  
I was about to go back into the other room when I saw Bischoff walk out of one of the rooms.   
  
"Austin up?" He asked me pouring a cup of coffee.  
  
"Yeah. He's in the other room."   
  
Eric winced before sitting down at the table. "I think I'll stay in here then." Then he looked up. "Shit."  
  
I turned around and saw Austin standing in the doorway leaning against the wall. Yeah that word pretty much described it. I knew the fireworks were about to go off.  
  
"What the hell are you doing in my house?" He demanded. "What are any of you doing in my house!"   
  
"Um..." Eric started to say.  
  
"Where's Debra?" He looked around. Then stopped. He looked like he just realized something. "And what am I doing here? Last thing I remember is a scaffold match."  
  
I got up. I think someone else should be telling Austin this. I went back into the other room and found Shane and Mark still sitting there. "You guys might want to come into the kitchen. Austin's asking a lot of questions. And he's in there with Eric."  
  
They jumped out of their chairs about as fast as they did when they heard Austin on the phone.  
  
Steve looked angry. "Mark, Shane what the hell is going on? What are all of you doing in my house and where's Debra? And how did I get here? The last thing I remember is a scaffold match."  
  
"Uh Steve I don't know how to tell you this, but you've been in a coma for fifteen years. You were knocked off the scaffold and fell to the concrete." Mark answered.  
  
Austin laughed. "You are kidding me."  
  
"Wish I was but I'm not. Jarrett kicked you off of the scaffold fifteen years ago."   
  
"So why am I home instead of some hospital and where's Debra." I could see that he was starting to get agitated.  
  
"Well that's the thing. Everyone thinks you died." Eric spoke up. Oh no now he looked like he was going to explode. Maybe Chase should be in here.  
  
"What?! Why would they think that?" I could literally see the fire in his eyes. He was beyond pissed.  
  
"Because Vince tried to kill you." Uncle Eddy said coming into the room with Chase. Chase was looking at me wearily. Probably afraid I'll punch him.   
  
"Whoa you want to back up and try at the beginning." He looked around at all of this and he stopped at me. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I'm Daniel Benoit." I said.  
  
"Daniel Benoit...your Chris and Nancy's kid right?" I nodded. "And how the hell are you involved in this?"  
  
"Vince tried to kill my dad." I said.   
  
His eyes got wide. He shook his head before saying something. "Somehow this doesn't surprise me. Leading up to Survivor Series things seemed fishy but that still doesn't explain why everyone thinks I'm dead."  
  
"Like my dad and Owen..." Shit yeah that was smart. I almost told him about Owen right away. I don't know how they were planning to approach that subject.  
  
"Owen? Are you saying Owen's alive too?"  
  
Uncle Eddy glared at me. "What is it about you and Athena and letting things slip?" Then he turned to Steve. "Yes he's alive. He survived the fall."  
  
"Is there any other dead alive people I should know about?" Steve demanded. I had always wondered that myself.  
  
"No. Not that we happen to know of." Mark said.   
  
"Start at the beginning because this is too confusing."  
  
I listened as they detailed everything. From when they found out about what they planned for Owen till now. They hadn't mentioned Shane and Marissa yet. Austin's facial expressions changed continuously. From shock to horror to anger. He also let out many curses.   
  
"And no one told Mick we were alive?" Austin said after he was just told about Mick's death.  
  
"No but Owen and Chris were there at the funeral." Eddy said.  
  
I looked up in shock. They were? My dad was there when I was? This was he first time I'd ever heard about this. I had been at the funeral sitting with my mom and stepdad. I'd known the Foley's for a long time. Their youngest child is almost my age. I wonder how they could sneak two presumed dead wrestlers into a funeral without being noticed. I tried to sneak my dad into OVW and look how that turned out. Well at least I know where my dad got the idea from.  
  
"Then there's Shane and Marissa." Uncle Eddy continued.  
  
"What about them? Don't tell me Vince would..." no one answered. "No one can be that sick."  
  
"We think someone gave Vince bad information to get rid of Shane. We don't know who did it though. But they're fine. We managed to get them out of there before Vince did anything." Shane said. "They have two children."  
  
Steve just sat there not saying anything for a couple minutes. "You guys had a strange way of doing things. I'm surprised more people didn't figure it out."  
  
If only he knew just how many people now know.  
  
"I have a question. If no one knows we are here who was on the phone?" Austin demanded.  
  
I groaned. During all of this I forgot all about the phone call.  
  
"Phone? The house one or cell?" Eddy demanded. I could see worry on his face.  
  
"House one. It was the cabin." Mark said. "Steve answered it but we got it away from him."  
  
"Well hell it's my house. I didn't know I was dead then." Austin answered.   
  
"They were just calling to see what happened to us when we left Philips Arena." I filled them in. "Dad was the one that answered Steve. He uh fainted."  
  
"He did know I was alive right?"  
  
"Yeah but he didn't know you were awake." Shane answered.  
  
Eddy seemed to relax for the first time. "We should probably go if we plan to get back to Kentucky tonight. I called the airline and there is a plane leaving at 2:10." 


	68. Confrontation at Home

I was tired when we got back to my apartment. We had a layover in Chicago and landed in Louisville at 8:30. It had been a long couple of days. I was ready for a hot shower and go to bed even though Eric and Eddy were coming into the apartment. I wasn't prepared for whom I saw in my apartment.   
  
Eric started inching out of the apartment. I think he was hoping he wasn't seen.  
  
"Ric..." Eddy started to say but Ric was already on his feet.  
  
"Not now." Uncle Ric said without even looking at him. His eyes were firmly locked on Eric. "Just what the hell are you doing?"  
  
"Look I've been getting enough shit about what I've been doing." Eric said. "And I don't need it from you."  
  
Eddy just shook his head and took a seat on the couch. I wasn't too sure what to do.   
  
"I want to know whose side you really are on Eric."  
  
"Yours of course. Ric..."  
  
"If you had overheard Stephanie and Hunter talking then why didn't you stop this?" Ric yelled.   
  
"Because one that wouldn't have done any good and two if they had known I'd heard I probably would have been killed too."  
  
"Like that wouldn't have made things better." Ric snorted.  
  
"Cool it." Eddy spoke up for the first time. "This isn't helping anything. Ric I don't exactly like Eric but he's been a big help. With a few exceptions he's alerted us before Vince did something. And luckily I don't think Vince has realized what's been going on. He's been too involved in plotting things to realize it. Which of course is an advantage."  
  
Eric actually had an arrogant look on his face. Knowing Uncle Ric that could be trouble for him. I looked over at Uncle Eddy who was now massaging his temples. Uncle Ric didn't look any calmer then he did a second ago. I have a feeling that hot shower and sleep will have to wait awhile. And I really hope none of the neighbors complain. I just know one of these days I'm going to be kicked out of my apartment for all this loud noise. I have been lucky so far and haven't gotten a complaint. But I just know that my luck will run out on that.  
  
"So what's next?" Ric asked. "Now that Vince, Stephanie, and Hunter are behind bars what's next?"  
  
"The trial." Eric said. "We've got enough evidence to nail their asses for good."  
  
"And how are you going to make sure nothing happens to Athena and Danny?" Uncle Ric asked. I saw a blank look on Eric's face. Eddy looked like he was going to say something but didn't. "You don't have a plan? Come on! You don't think Vince won't retaliate? And Danny's probably the one in the most danger of the two since he was with Shane at RAW and Nitro. But you knew that didn't you? That's why he went."  
  
"It was but..." Uncle Eddy spoke up before Eric could say anything.  
  
Uncle Ric turned to look at him. "So let me see if I have this straight. Chris and Owen's deaths were faked to keep their families safe. And then when you nail Vince you use Danny, which puts him in more danger then he's ever been in? Yeah this was a great plan of yours."  
  
I have a feeling that if he knew Eric was responsible for Athena and I finding out Eric would be a dead man. And I'm not going to tell him.   
  
"If I hadn't interfered when I did Vince might have done something earlier." Eric said. "He was suspicious when Danny started asking questions."  
  
Uncle Ric turned to face him. "What did you do?"  
  
"I sent him what he needed to know." Eric said. I wonder if he has a death wish. "And I sent you one too."  
  
"You've been the one sending tapes?" Ric was yelling again.   
  
There was a knock on my door. Oh this was great. I wonder who it could be. I looked through the peephole of the door and saw one of my neighbors, Mrs. Lee, standing there with her 12-year-old daughter Brenda. I opened the door and stepped outside. "Hello Mrs. Lee what can I do for you?"  
  
"Daniel is everything all right? There's been a lot of yelling coming from your apartment lately and especially tonight. It's after midnight and Brenda has school tomorrow. Now I won't report you to the super but I will if it happens again."  
  
"I'm sorry Mrs. Lee. I'll try to see if I can get them to keep it down." I said before going back into the apartment. This was going to be impossible. Time to take this manner into my own hands "Guys that was my neighbor complaining. It's after midnight and I want to get some sleep. So can you take this fight somewhere else?"  
  
They looked at me with looks that seemed to be between shocked and amused. I hadn't said a word during their argument. They probably had forgotten I was there. First Uncle Eddy and Eric left but Uncle Ric stopped in the doorway before leaving. "I talked to your father about bringing Megan up to the cabin."  
  
"What did he say?" I really hope he said yes. She needs to know dad's not dead. She's been through a lot after making a bad choice in friends. Not that I'd hold it against her.   
  
"He said okay. We had to talk awhile before he agreed. He now knows about her friendship with the Helmsley's. I think that helped him decide. But he said absolutely no to any other family."  
  
Damn. I was kind of hoping I could get mom and dad back together. I hate having to keep this from her. I think she needs to know about it more then Megan does. But I was also afraid of how she'd react.   
  
When they finally did leave I went to check my answering machine.   
  
"This is En..." fast forward "This is the Atl..." fast-forward. I did that about ten times till I got to something that wasn't from some show.   
  
"Hey Danny! This is Stan. I saw RAW last night what's going on? You should have told me you were going to do that and I would have joined you. Cute outfit. Hey call me when you get in."  
  
I made a note to do so. The next one was from my mother. "Daniel? You back from Texas yet? Call me as soon as you get in. I don't care what time. We need to talk." She hung up. I wasn't sure if I was going to call her back though. She'll probably call me. 


	69. It was the right thing

Notes: We are sorry for how long this took to get out. I asked Jules once if it was a book. Doesn't look like I was far from that question huh? Jules gets complete credit for this great chapter. It looks like chapter 70 will need to be rewritten unless I want to wait forever to get it off a computer that's not hooked up! I have more time on my hands then Jules does.  
  
When I woke up the next morning, I had a phone call from my Mom that went about was typical for us these days: Her fearing retaliation from Vince and wanting me not to be involved in this. Kind of late to stay out of this now. There was also some admonishment for actually going to Phillip's arena.   
  
After we hung up, I let the answering machine take the rest of my calls. They went pretty much the way I expected: Several were from media outlets, wanting a comment on Monday night; one was from Tatem which I took before she hung up and went pretty much how the conversation with my mother went. One was from David, asking how Megan was which reminded me to call Uncle Ric and find out for myself since it had been about two days since I'd seen her, and I knew she was probably scared not knowing where I was after what she found out at RAW. The rest of the calls where from my Dad and Mom's friends from their wrestling days, at least those who didn't know that Dad was alive. There were a few I wondered about how they got my number, but just figured that they probably got in touch with Mom and she gave it to them.  
  
The last call had been from Uncle Eddy telling me where he and Eric were staying and the phone numbers. I was going to assume Uncle Ric wasn't staying at the same place they were.  
  
As I sat on my couch, I got to thinking. I know almost everybody else's story in this whole mess, if some of them came about in a roundabout way. There were a few I didn't know about. I suspected that Tammy's story was an extremely personal one and tied into how she and Athena looked like they'd been crying after they'd talked that day at the cabin, so I decided I wouldn't ask her about how she got involved in this. There was another I was curious about, but I didn't know where to find him, and quite frankly I wasn't sure if I wanted to ask him about his role in this right now anyways. The third was easy to find and I was wanting to know more about his role in this.  
  
Going back to the phone, I quickly dialed the number of the hotel and the extension Eddy gave me. As I heard the voice on the other end bark out 'hello,' a sign that he'd just woken up, I took a deep breathe and made a fateful choice.  
  
"Eric, this is Danny Benoit. I was wondering if you were interested in a chat."  
  
___________________________________________________________________  
  
As I was waiting for Eric in a private area in Antonio's (no one bothers to come in here much during the day and I made damn sure I came in disguised. Well, a better disguise than Dad had used at OVW), I wondered if this was such a good idea afterall. Growing up I'd head nothing but negative things about the man from Mom and my Dad's friends. Despite the fact that the man did help save my father, the man to me, came off as braggadious and arrogant. The matters with my Uncle Ric was proof enough of that. So I was more than a little nervous as I sad in the booth waiting for Eric to arrive.  
  
Eric walked in five minutes later. He was sporting sunglasses, jeans, and a T - shirt underneath a leather jacket. Not much of a disguise, but then again, at this point, I was probably more recognized around here than Eric was.  
  
As Eric found my booth, an old country song from the early '00's came over the jukebox. Eric gave a smirk as he sat across from me.  
  
"Long Black Train huh?" he said commenting on the song, "maybe someday me and Vince will ride it together."  
  
"Didn't take you for a country fan," I said, more to start a conversation than anything else.  
  
"Yeah well, keeps a guy sane when he's flying an airplane," he responded. "So how have you been holding up?"  
  
"Okay, I guess," I answered, "though the other night felt a little bit like that show Buffy with Austin waking up."  
  
"Yeah I bet it was," Eric said with a small smirk, "but I doubt that you woke me up at 8am in the morning to talk about Austin waking up from the dead."  
  
"No, it's not," I said. Didn't see any point in beating around the bush so to speak if he wasn't.  
  
"You want to know how I got involved - "  
  
"I'm more interested in the 'whys' of it at the moment than the 'hows' of it," I blurted out, wondering where it was coming from. I did want to know how Eric got involved in this, but now that the man was here, I ha d a sudden desire to know why. Why did this man, who I'd heard nothing but negative about all my life help safe my father? Not only help, but put his life on the line, literally to help save men like my father and Steve Austin and Shane McMahon. All of whom he had acrimonious relationships with.  
  
Eric took a sip of the beer that he'd ordered and nodded as he set the glass down.  
  
"Eddy was right," he said, "you are like your dad. He likes to get straight to the point too."  
  
"Why did you help save my father?" I asked again.  
  
"Well," Eric began, "if we're going down this road, then would you mind if I was completely blunt and honest with you?"  
  
"By all means," I replied. Honesty was what I wanted wasn't it?  
  
"Your Uncle Ric can go to hell for all I care and I'm sure he feels the same about me. Never a secret that we hated each other and quite frankly for a lot of years I felt the same way about your Dad as well."  
  
I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I waited for him to continue.  
  
"I know my reputation. I know what I've said and done over the years. For the most part, I don't care. It's what I had to do to get ahead and survive in this business and if a few throats got figuratively cut so to speak, and a few careers got ruined or sidetracked along the way, then so be it. I never claimed to be a saint and I almost always knew what I did and said wouldn't please most people. I can be the worst person in the world and I can look myself in the mirror, right in the eye and safely say there are very few things of everything I've ever done or said that I genuinely regret."  
  
There are a few reasons as to why I did what I did to save your father, Steve Austin, Shane McMahon and kept Owen being alive a secret. The obvious one, of course, is that the fact of taking out the man who put me effectively out of business, Vince. Won't lie and say that I didn't get a certain amount of sadistic joy in seeing the old bastard hauled off in a pair of handcuffs. The other reasons are more personal."  
  
"Like I said, I'm not a nice person, I realize that. But what I am is a guy with certain lines that he just won't cross, not even for business or personal hatreds. One of those likes is murder. If I'd let Vince murder those people, I'd never would have been able to look myself or my family in the eye. I felt I had to do something to keep Vince and Stephanie from committing all of the murders and other stuff they'd done over the years. Wasn't always successful," he finished taking another sip of beer.  
  
"Maybe if I explained how I got myself involved in this, you might understand some of the whys."  
  
"That would be nice," I said quietly.  
  
"I'd say it started off innocently enough," he started, "but rarely anything I do is innocent, so let's just say it started out simply enough. Me and Vince Russo were forced together by AOL/Time Warner brass - Ted Turner didn't have any sort of control in anything by this point - in April of 2000, as a pseudo last - ditch effort, in their view, to make WCW profitable. I always thought that Russo was sent by Vince McMahon to destroy the company from the inside out. Pretty convenient that things went completely to hell AFTER he got there. But conspiracy theories have nothing really to do with this."  
  
"Anyways, things started out easily enough. Me and Russo didn't get along, but we were civil enough to each other to make everybody believe we did. This went on for a couple of months or so, presenting a so - called united front while each was plotting how to stab the other in the back. Then as they say, one fateful morning in June, I walked into his office, I don't remember the reason why I did now, and everything changed.  
  
"Russo always had a tone of VHS tapes stacked up, sometimes to the ceiling. Anyways, there was a lone tape in the middle of his decks, didn't have any markings or anything that screamed that it was something important or anything, which in itself was odd because Russo was obsessive about labeling everything in his office. I figured it must important for it to be left lying around unlabeled. That or porn, I don't remember which one I thought it was. So I took it back to my office to have my own view of it."  
  
"If I'd known then what it was, I would've killed Russo then and there and used a ten or maybe twenty foot pole to handle the tape.  
  
"Well, you could only imagine what was going through my head as I watched that tape for the first time, and keep in mind, unlike you and Athena, I didn't know Owen was alive at that point. I can watch a man get his skull bashed in and take delight in it, but watching somebody pay off another to kill his employee, I think that was the first time I ever remember throwing up over something that was essentially business related. Done and said a lot of reprehensible things, but that had to be the worst I'd ever witnessed.  
  
"I was shocked at what I'd seen, angry, sick at it all. I wasn't just angry for myself but also for Bret. The guy had gone through so much from 1997 onward. Vince pretty much took everything from the guy, including his own brother, I had thought. I said earlier that I didn't car much of anybody or anything in this business, but I'd actually came to care for Bret and his family as time went by. I saw first hand how Owen's death devastated him, hell I was the one that had to tell Bret about Kemper in the first place! To have proof that Vince ordered Owen's murder, well, that made my quest to ruin Vince personal as a result of my friendship with Bret. From the time I saw the tape, it wasn't purely business anymore. It was for blood as well."  
  
"Why didn't you just tell Bret after you saw the tape?" I thought it made sense.  
  
"Fair enough question," Eric replied, "the answer isn't as clear as it was back then. Sometimes I think it might have been simpler if I'd just gone directly to Bret and bypassed the Feds. Who knows? Might have prevented everything else that happened since then. Bret was still having medical problems from the concussions he'd sustained back at the end of 1999, and we didn't know at the time I found the tape that his career was done as a result of it. Plus I guess there was the fact that since I was the one that told him that his brother was dead, I didn't want to bring him anymore bad news, he'd suffered enough. There have been times when I thought that I was nothing but trouble for Bret. Things started to sour for Bret when I signed him away from Vince in 1997 and they've been sour since.  
  
"Anyways, I headed down to the local office of the FBI to turn over the tape. I wanted it out of my sight as soon as possible. While I was there, I ran into Eddy, who I hadn't seen since before I'd been fired back in the middle of 1999. I knew, he, Dean, Perry and Chris were working for Vince. But I hadn't known until I saw him in that FBI office that he was also working for the FBI to spy on Vince. I think he had a deer in the headlights look when he saw me."  
  
"He's good with those expressions," I quipped.  
  
Eric snorted. "Well, I certainly was the last person he expected to see in that office that day and certainly, he was the last person I'd ever expected to see in an FBI office. Michael came out behind Eddy and asked if it was true what I'd said about having information on Owen's 'death.' I handed him the tape and all three of us watched it. They for the first time, me for the about the third or fourth since I'd replayed it a couple of times after the first view to see if I'd really seen what I'd seen. Eddy started cursing up a storm in both Spanish and English and somewhere in that profanity laced tirade, he'd let it slip that Owen was alive. The last time I'd seen his face so pale when he'd realized what he'd revealed was when he was in that New Year's car crash a year earlier. Have to admit looking back now it was comic. Of course back then I wasn't really amused."  
  
"Of course they told their reasons for what they'd done, and why Owen's continued existence needed to be kept a secret. Of course with Vince still roaming free and Michael and Eddy telling me what else they thought Vince had done over the years, well I didn't need to be told twice to keep my mouth shut. If somebody could murder they're own employee and not only not blink an eye at it, but put on a pretty good act of being sincere about the death of the employee he murdered, well I figured that was the type of guy that was capable of doing anything at that point. Plus I figured it wouldn't be too long before they had enough solid evidence to convict Vince and allow Owen to come out of hiding.  
  
"How wrong we all were."  
  
"We'd all underestimated Vince. He was quite good at so meticulously planning things that he made sure he wouldn't get caught by making the evidence disappear or making the people involve disappear or taking the blame themselves. Add to the fact Vince is a master manipulator, and well maybe we shouldn't have been surprised that it took this long to catch Vince. If Russo hadn't come forward, we might still be trying to find things and everybody might still be hiding.  
  
"Anyways WCW was bought out by Vince and I went to Hollywood for a while, trying to get started in that area. Eddy got fired for a painkiller addiction he'd been having and with nobody else on the inside, we thought we'd seen our last chance to nail Vince go away. Then that stupid InVasion storyline failed and Ric was brought aboard as a short lived 'Co - owner' which initiated a split of both rosters. Eddy was rehired, unfortunately he was on the RAW roster and Vince was spearheading the SMACKDOWN roster. Well, Austin walked, it necessitated dramatic changes, including Ric being demoted so to speak. Russo was rehired for a short time and he suggested a GM storyline with him as one GM and somebody else, I never found out who Russo had suggested as the other GM was. Anyways he left again, but Vince liked the GM storyline enough to take it and run with it. Eddy was scheduled to be switched to the SMACKDOWN side of things which meant the Feds needed somebody to get onto the RAW side. Douglas had too much shit with Vince to be rehired and Eddy didn't want to burden anybody else with what he knew about Owen. Even though we'd fought for several years, we'd never had a face to face meeting, so I figured I could sweet talk my way into a job with Vince."  
  
"Worked like I charm if I may say so myself; I was the RAW General Manager and for the rest of the Brands split, there were two of us keeping eye on Vince and his family to see what else they might be planning next. When the split ended I talked myself into being one of Vince's right hands. I also have a pilot's license, so I was able to do some ferrying with Austin and your dad without Vince looking or being suspicious. While he didn't trust me with much dirty work, we managed to slowly build a case against the bastard. Just wish it hadn't taken so long. When I found out that Vince was plotting to kill his own son, I was the one that acted. I'm a father myself and I could never imagine a circumstance where I would order my own children murdered. That made me believe Vince was truly Satan at that point.  
  
"Like I said earlier, this became personal the moment that I saw that tape of Vince paying off Russo. I have very few personal regrets about following through with this. My only regrets lay with the families Vince hurt."  
  
"Why did you send the tapes?" I asked. That was the one thing I really wanted to know since that's how I got involved in this mess.  
  
"You were looking into what happened to your Dad that day in Vince's office, so I figured that you needed to see what was on the tape. I didn't figure that Eddy had told you a completely different version of that day or that Chase's words could be heard since we'd thought at that point the mics around the ring had been turned off. I'd completely forgotten about Athena being Sierra when I sent it out. When I saw you two at Kemper, I'd already heard it from Michael about you guys having gone to the cabin so I figured that Athena knew the truth and that it was time for Bret to know as well."   
  
"The day I sent those tapes out, me and Ric had crossed paths. He and I were both doing personal appearances in North Carolina and well, words were exchanged. I got so pissed off that I turned on auto pilot and sought away to piss him off. I bitched myself out after I sent the tapes to Ric. I may hate the man, but that certainly wasn't how any of us wanted him to find out. Did he really squeeze himself into the trunk of Tammy's Porsche?"  
  
I nodded, taking everything in. The conversation had certainly been honest enough and I probably learned more than I thought possible, not just about what these men had been doing but about the man in front of me. Complex seems like an understatement.  
  
"I think I should head home," I said. "I probably have a lot of phone messages on my machine. Probably all from my mother." As I went to pay for the beers (It was my idea to talk, so I figured the least I could to was pay), a song came over the jukebox that caused me to tense. Eric noticed.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Um, nothing," I started. "It's just that 'My Immortal' was played at my Dad's funeral." I flashed back to that horrible day where I thought my Dad had been buried forever. Despite everything I know now, that song still takes me back to that day and I hated that song with passion. I went to get up and leave. I had to get out of there now.  
  
"Hey Benoit," Eric called back.  
  
"Yeah," I turned back. I wondered what else he wanted.  
  
"There was an additional incentive for me in helping save your Dad from Goldberg."  
  
I sat back down.  
  
"I may not have very many regrets, but one thing I do regret is creating the monster that was and is Goldberg. Guy had an ego a mile long but he caught with the fans and I figured that it would silence many of the critics who said I had to utilize Vince's talent. That I couldn't 'create' a star of my own. In the process I gave Vince the perfect weapon to ruin a lot of lives and careers."  
  
"Do you think he deliberately ended Bret's career?" I asked. I hadn't planned on bringing up Goldberg, but I figured since Eric had, I would ask the question that had been on my mind since that day at Steve's house.  
  
"Mark told me about what he'd said to you about Goldberg before we left Texas. Do I think Goldberg deliberately caused several of those concussions? That's a good possibility. He showed no remorse for what he'd done while Terry Funk, who'd caused the rest of the concussions, was genuinely sorry. Do I think Vince paid Bill to end Bret's career? That I don't know. I suspect only two men do, and that's Vince McMahon and Bill Goldberg. But that alone if I'd known nothing else, despite my feelings about your dad at the time would've been enough to make me want to stop Goldberg from killing your dad."  
  
I left with a lot on my mind and knowing that my conversation with Eric Bischoff would stick in my mind for a long time to come. 


	70. Tempers Rise Snow Falls

The talk with Eric made me think about my life before my father 'died'. I was only four but I had some memories of that time.   
  
  
  
When I got back to my apartment that day, I went to the trunk that is in my room. I use it to store things in it. Eddy had told me, while I was driving back to the cabin, that it would be a good idea if I didn't go to OVW until things cooled down a bit. I did think that was a good idea.   
  
  
  
I sat on my bed with the photo album opened. I had asked my mother several years ago if she could make me copies of the pictures of my father, which she did.  
  
  
  
There were pictures of my dad, mom, Uncle Ric, Uncle Arn, aman and woman I didn't know, and another woman who was my mom's best friend. There were quite a few of those in the beginning of it. There were lot of four fingers. I remember asking my mother about it. She wouldn't answer my questions though. She refused to talk about wrestling at all. But the pictures aren't even wrestling ones. They were all personal ones from what I could tell. I kept flipping through till I came across the ones from right after I was born. Dad was standing there holding me. I presumed it was at the hospital. And across from it was a picture of them both looking down at me.   
  
  
  
There were pictures of my dad when he was home after his in ring injuries. The ones of him with aneck brace and then later with an arm brace. I started to smile when I saw one of dad and mom walking me to the preschool building. Dad looked happy. I did too but I was only three years old. How could I possibly have known what would happen to my family less then a year later? There were pictures from a late birthday party. We had waited until dad would be home to celebrate it. I had tears in my eyes as I remember that that was the last time dad was home before that PPV he 'died' at. Tatem told me how mom would drop me and Tatem off at her parents and then flew up, or drove up, to spend a couple of days with dad. I wiped away another tear. I closed the album. Those were the last pictures of my dad.  
  
  
  
I sighed as I turned the TV on. Nothing good on but it would pass the time.  
  
  
  
***  
  
I was barely awake as I sat on my mom's lap at my father's wake. I felt my mom shift me but I didn't make a sound.   
  
  
  
"I just don't know what to do Eddy. He won't talk or eat. This is the only time he has slept since that day. I know why he hasn't but I can't help but worry. He cried for an hour yesterday." I snuggled closer to her. She sighed. "It's okay Daniel." She kissed the top of my head.  
  
  
  
"Mom!" I heard Tatem yell. I opened my eyes.  
  
  
  
"Nancy I'll take him. Go see what Tatem wants." Uncle Eddy said. I felt myself be moved over. My hair ruffled a bit before Iheard a sigh. "I know you are hurting but you are hurting your mother." He said in a quiet voice, "damn Vince for doing this." I was almost asleep and I had no idea at the time what he was talking about.   
  
  
  
Beep beep beep  
  
  
  
The sound of my alarm woke me up. I rolled over in bed. Talking to Eric the other day really stirred up some memories. That wasn't the only dream I've had this week.  
  
  
  
I looked at the time. Megan was going to be here in an hour so I could drive her to see dad. Of course she had no idea that that was where we were going. I had called her the day before saying I wanted to take her somewhere and it was a surprise. I can't even begin to guess what her reaction will be.   
  
  
  
I hadn't told Megan about dad yet. I called dad before we left to see if it was okay and he said yes. He already knows about Megan's friendships with the wrong people. I wondered what he had thought of it but hadn't really had a chance to talk to him lately. I was almost scared of how she'd react. I really hoped it would end up all right.  
  
  
  
I took a quick shower and ate some breakfast. Around ten there was a knock on my door. Either it was my sister or one of the usual unexpected visitors I seem to get. I looked through the peephole. Good. It was Megan.  
  
  
  
I let her in. She did something that was unusual for us. She gave me a hug. "I'm glad you called. You scared me when you took off in Atlanta."  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry. Let me get my jacket and we can get going." I grabbed my leather jacket and led my sister out. We went to my truck. "How are you doing?" I asked her as we drove away from the city and towards the cabin.  
  
  
  
"I can't believe I was so stupid. I really thought they had cared about me. Stephanie even said she was going to offer you a contract. I was shocked when you turned them down. I thought it was your dream but I see why you did now."  
  
  
  
"I'm just glad they didn't hurt you."  
  
  
  
"Me too. Where are we going anyway? I really don't like surprises."  
  
  
  
"You'll see." I said. "it's a long ride so relax." I turned my MP3 player on.  
  
  
  
We listened to music in silence for most of the ride.   
  
  
  
"Where are we going Danny?" She asked. We were almost at the cabin. She has asked me that several times now.  
  
  
  
"We are almost there and it's a surprise." I pulled the car up to a stop in front of the cabin. I wish mom, Tatem, and David could have come with us but dad said no.  
  
  
  
I knocked on the door. Uncle Eddy answered the door. "Come on in." He said. We walked in. The whole first room was almost covered with boxes.   
  
  
  
"I'll go get him." He said leaving the room.   
  
  
  
"Danny why are we here?" She asked looking around. "Are we helping someone move or something?"  
  
  
  
"Not quite." I said looking around. Tammy and Michael werecarrying their own boxes out.   
  
  
  
"Megan?" Dad said from behind us. We turned around. He was standing there looking so hopeful. Maybe hoping she'd recognize him.  
  
  
  
Megan stared at dad for the longest time I almost thought she didn't recognize him. "Daddy?" She whispered.  
  
  
  
"Hey sweet pea." He said. Tears were in Megan's eyes as she hugged dad. "Shh." He said I could tell they were both crying.   
  
  
  
I stood back allowing them to have their private reunion. I did feel a bit out of place in it even if it was my father and sister. Dad directed her towards the couch Megan didn't stop crying though.  
  
  
  
"Is it really you?" She asked blowing her nose on the Kleenex I gave her.  
  
  
  
"It's really me." He held her for a few moments. I felt like an almost outsider while watching. I could see they were both so happy.   
  
  
  
But it turned more serious when Megan said, "you must hate me for being friends with the people that tried to kill you."  
  
  
  
"I could never hate you Megan. You had no idea what they had tried to do. I'm just glad everything ended before you got hurt." He hugged her again.  
  
  
  
"I can't believe I'm seeing you again." She sniffed. "It was only last week I found out Hunter and Stephanie tried to kill you."  
  
  
  
"Me neither. I didn't think I would ever see any of you again. But if Danny hadn't been so nosy we wouldn't be having this conversation." This earned a laugh from Megan. It was the first time in a long time that I had heard a genuine laugh from her. "Though you have to admit he didn't look bad in drag."  
  
  
  
"Hey!" I said though I was trying not to laugh. I took it as my cue to let them have a private conversation. Megan hadn't seen dad in so long and I've known he's been alive for a month or so. It's only right that they have this conversation in private so I headed to the kitchen.  
  
  
  
I opened the refrigerator and took a bottled water out. I turned and stared outside. It was a nice winter day. There was a little bit of snow on the ground but not much. Growing up in Atlanta, I rarely saw snow. It's beautiful up here.  
  
  
  
"Oh hey. Didn't know you were in here." I turned around tosee Uncle Eddy standing there in the doorway.  
  
  
  
"I thought I should give my dad and Megan some privacy." Eddy nodded and started to goto the refrigerator. I thought about the dream I had this morning. I haven't gotten a chance to really talk to Uncle Eddy other then him yelling at me. Shane talked about how Eddy got involved in this but I haven't heard anything about it from Eddy. "Hey can I talk to you?"  
  
  
  
He almost seemed uneasy as he sat at the table. I took a seat next to him. "I figured you'd want to talk eventually."  
  
  
  
Now that I've got him here what do I want to say? I wondered. There were so many questions going through my mind. But there was one that stuck out in my mind right now. The reason why we were having this conversation right now. "When I asked what happened to my dad why did you lie?"  
  
  
  
He had a sad look on his face. "It would have been better if I had said something different. I still kick myself. I made a mistake by not saying anything. It was a story I have been telling people for years so it was only natural to tell you that. Like I said I never thought Bischoff would send that tape. I didn't even know you went to see Vince McMahon until Eric told Michael how you got the tape."  
  
  
  
"How could you lie to my family for so many years?" There were tears in my eyes as I asked him. People comment all the time that I get to the point quick when I want to know something. Mom told me I got it from dad. Course she says that about a lot of things.  
  
  
  
Eddy had a very hurt look on his face. He didn't say anything right away. "I think it's best if I start at the beginning. On New Years Day in 1999, I was in a car accident on the way home from the store. My leg was badly hurt and I was on the shelf for months." I nodded. Shane had told me this but I didn't interrupt. "In April of that year I was hanging out backstage at Nitro. I heard a conversation I wasn't supposed to hear between Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. They were talking about the WWF PPV Over the Edge, which was the following month. They were talking about how at Over the Edge there would be one less Hart.  
  
  
  
"I was so shocked by that and listened more. I decided to go to the police with the information who sent me to talk to an FBI agent named, of course, Michael Erichson. They were building a case against Vince. There was some questionable stuff going on before this whole Over the Edge PPV. I called Shane Douglas because I needed someone's help in this. I didn't involve your dad, Perry, or Dean because they were busy on the road. The FBI had a medic that worked for them. Shane and I had to wait at a hotel for information because we had no idea if Owen would survive.   
  
  
  
There were some weird things going on back then. I'm surprised no one figured something was up other then us. They had some guy whohad been an assistant to the man who created Sting's stunt in WCW, in charge of this. The guy lied about his past experience but I think Vince knew that and that's why he was hired. I don't know but it makes sense to me. We were both relieved to find out that Owen had survived. They kept Owen in the hospital until he could be moved. We were lucky the assumed name worked. No one expected a thing. You know about the walkout in 2000?"  
  
  
  
I nodded. "Shane Douglas told me all about it. How you were going to the WWF and that Shane was trying to persuade them not to."  
  
  
  
Eddy nodded. "That was the plan but there was no trying to persuade them not to go there. Your dad did have an excuse. Your mother was pregnant with you. This whole thing destroyed three friendships. But we thought that maybe this was the best way to do it. Shane never actually asked for his release and stayed in WCW. It got blown way out of proportion. Your dad and Shane are as close as they everwere."  
  
  
  
I nodded. My anger not really dissipating but I let Uncle Eddy continue talking. He wasn't quite saying anything I hadn't heard before.  
  
  
  
He started playing with the tablecloth as he continued. "I got fired in 2002 because of an addiction to pain killers. Honestly, those things were the only things getting me through all of this. But that's another story. It wasn't really an uncommon thing for wrestlers to have that problem. I took time to get my life back in order. Your father was a good friend during all of that. I came back and was sent to Smackdown. That's when Bischoff came in to play General Manager for RAW, until the roster split ended and Stephanie McMahon was named General Manager."  
  
  
  
"Things started going really bad in May and the summer of 2003. I was suspended because someone had planted drugs in my bag. I was clean of drugs. And there was no other explanation for how they got in there. And someone else had doctored the test to make it look like I had taken heroin. This wasn't the first time someone had placed drugs in someone's bags, but unlike Brian Lawler I wasn't fired. Why I'm not really sure but I'm glad I wasn't.   
  
  
  
"Then your dad rebroke his elbow in a match against the Big Show. Totally an accident by the way. He was supposed to win the title and face Steve Austin in the unification match but that of course wasn't meant to be. Both he and I returned to the WWF at the same time. Vince didn't give me a match at Survivor Series but he put your dad in a match that was supposed to set him up for his match at Royal Rumble against Steve Austin. But as you know that also wasn't meant to be.  
  
  
  
"Unlike with your father six months later, I didn't go to ringside. We had all thought that would look suspicious so Chase, of course, went out there. He gave me a signal that only I knew meant Steve was alive. But that was an anxious twenty-four hours, since Steve barely survived the fall. People asked for their releases after Survivor Series though not the mass exodus that happened six months later. As for your family...I never liked lying to people but I was never given a choice. I hated looking at your motheri n so much pain. A few times at the beginning I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying anything to her."   
  
  
  
"I had a dream last night. In it I was at my dad's wake. I was sitting on my mom's lap and you guys were talking about how my mother was worried because I wouldn't eat, speak or sleep. Then you said Damn Vince for doing this."  
  
  
  
His face paled. "I didn't think anyone heard me. But yes Isaid that. I was so mad at Vince for doing something like this to your family. When Vince, Hunter, and Stephanie had planned to kill your father I had never been so angry before. I wanted to kill them myself."  
  
  
  
"It really tore me up when I found out your mother and Tatem were in the audience. They were both going to have to witness this in person. Your dad was so excited about spending the next two days with his family. He had no idea that he would never see any of you again for fourteen years. He even thought it was strange that he wasn't wrestling on RAW but didn't want to complain. I had trouble looking him in the eye that night."  
  
  
  
"I bet. After all he was going to have his life as he knows it taken away from him." I couldn't help but say that.   
  
  
  
Uncle Eddy frowned at me. "That's true. That's what we did to him. I hated every moment of it. We got your dad to the cabin and with the exception of the RAW tribute and one in Japan I was done with wrestling."  
  
  
  
"So did you tell my dad Owen was alive before or after you brought him to the cabin." From what Shane said they didn't tell him until they got to the cabin. Did they give my dad the same surprise?  
  
  
  
He blinked. "Before." He looked uncomfortable. What wasn't he telling me this time? I wondered. After all of this time he still didn't want to tell me everything. I was getting really tired of this. "Before you say anything your dad wants to tell everyone after the trial." I was right.  
  
  
  
"When Vince asked me t o take over OVW I was more then happy to. But I also asked how much it would be to buy OVW from him. When I found out I bought it. He really wasn't asking for much. I think he just wanted to get rid of it. When we started this guest trainer thing I requested one thing. That one thing was that Hunter Hearst Helmsley was never allowed to do guest training. This was long before you or Athena joined."   
  
  
  
"Going to your house was always difficult even years later. I could see the pain in all of your eyes. Though your mother hid it really well even after she married Jason. It was so hard for Shane too even though he rarely went there right?" I nodded. "When Vince plotted to off Shane it was the worst thing. Shane loved his father and sister. He had no clue his father, sister, and brother in law were capable of murder. He was a bit too trusting, though he did separate WCW from WWE with some help from Ted Turner. He was so shocked to find out what they did and tried to do.   
  
  
  
"Shane told us later how he thinks Vince tried to destroy Bret's career. That Vince was angry that Bret even entertained the idea of leaving for WCW. It's become obvious now that he was. I feel sorry because Andi and Wes haven't had a normal childhood. They didn't even know their last name is McMahon. We thought it would be better for them if they never knew their parents past. Now life as they know it is forever changed."  
  
  
  
"Like everyone else's lives." I couldn't help being bitter. Uncle Eddy was being so honest and all I could think about is now.  
  
  
  
Eddy gave me a look. I could tell he was barely holding his temper. I should probably back off but I had a right to be angry. So I really couldn't back off. "What are we going to tell my mother?"  
  
  
  
He closed his eyes. "It's not something I look forward to doing. I know she'll hate me and I wouldn't blame her. She trusts me. When you and her were constantly arguing about you finishing high school in Atlanta she sent you to spend part of the summer in El Paso with my family."  
  
  
  
I remembered that summer. Eddy wasn't there but I spent it with his family. It was the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. Uncle Eddy had accidentally let it slip that there were a couple of people at the school who went to Brown High School. I wanted to do that and mom put her foot down. That caused a lot of arguments. I spent some time in El Paso and went back to my high school in Atlanta.  
  
  
  
"I was never against you becoming a wrestler but I would have rather had you go to a different school. That was mostly because of the fact that you would be close to the cabin. But since Athena was training at the cabin I didn't think it would be that much of a problem."  
  
  
  
"It might have been different if you were straight with me not that I would change any of it."   
  
  
  
"Yeah I know. But as I once told Ric and Arn, it's been going on so long. You don't even think about it anymore. My family and I sort of fit our lives around this. I'd take them up to the cabin at least once a year. Shane would sometimes come down to Louisville to take care of some business stuff. We did everything so discreetly I don't think Vince had any idea that some of WCW stuff was being taken care of by Shane."  
  
  
  
"So that's why Shane was at your place that day?" It never occurred to me before today to ask why Shane was at Uncle Eddy's.  
  
  
  
"Yes and that's why I was gone most of the previous day." He ran a hand through his hair before sighing. I noticed again that he does that a lot. "I guess there's a lot of what ifs with this. If I had been at my office I could have probably defused the situation."  
  
  
  
"Yeah well what ifs aren't going to help my mother, Athena's mother, and Steve's wife understand."  
  
  
  
"What do you want me to say to you Danny? That I'm sorry we had to keep your father away from you to keep your family and him safe? None of us exactly had a choice in the matter and I really do hate Vince for doing this to everyone. That's why I'll be glad when the trial is over and Vince is behind bars. Other then that I don't know what to tell you Danny."   
  
  
  
I could see he was starting to lose his temper. Maybe it would be best if I let it drop. I knew his temper was not something you wanted to deal with.  
  
  
  
He decided to end the conversation himself by walking out of the room. I went back to watching the snowfall outside. 


	71. Planning a Reunion

Chapter 71=sorry for taking so long. My muse finally got focused. Grr for a short chapter it sure took a long time!  
  
  
  
Megan certainly was in a better mood as we left the cabin after seeing dad. She was almost bouncing and we were having an actual conversation, which for us is unusual.  
  
  
  
"You know what you should do?" But she didn't wait for me to answer. "We should get dad and your mom back together. It would only be fair for them to see each other again."  
  
  
  
"I know but my mother is in Atlanta and dad's in Kentucky. It won't be easy. Mom hardly comes to Louisville." I was surprised she hadn't come back up.  
  
  
  
"Dad said everyone's going to Atlanta for the trial. They are looking to find a secure hotel for all of them to stay at. If they stay at a hotel it would be easy to get your mother there without her suspecting a thing."  
  
  
  
I hadn't realized everyone was going to stay in a hotel in Atlanta. But I guess it made sense since it was too far to go back and forth. But I a greed with Megan. It could work. We should bring Tatem and David to the hotel. It was only right for them to know. Levi would be a little hard to involve since he lives in Florida.  
  
  
  
After dropping Megan off at the hotel I entered my apartment. We needed someone's help in this. I certainly couldn't ask Uncle Eddy. He not only would disapprove but he'd probably warn dad. I could ask Uncle Ric or Uncle Arn. I think they'd help. But I think I should try Uncle Ric first.  
  
  
  
The phone rang a couple of times before Uncle Ric answered.  
  
  
  
"Hello?"  
  
  
  
"Uncle Ric? It's me Danny."  
  
  
  
"Hey Danny what's up?"  
  
  
  
"Megan saw dad today."  
  
  
  
"How'd she take it?"  
  
  
  
"Really well. She was all smiles and talked non stop after we left." I heard chuckling. "But she had an idea that I agree with." I wasn't totally sure what he'd think of this idea.  
  
  
  
"You two agree on something? That's a first." This time I laughed. He knew us too well. "So what's the idea."?  
  
  
  
"That we should bring mom to see dad." There was silence. Did he not think it was a good idea? "Yeah I know my dad would never agree to this but I think mom should know."  
  
  
  
"I think it's a good idea. She should know. But I'm trying to think of how that would be possible since your mother is in Atlanta and your dad is in Louisville." He was talking really quit probably hoping Beth couldn't hear him.  
  
  
  
"Actually dad told Megan that they were all moving to Atlanta for the trial. They'll be staying at a hotel."  
  
  
  
"We can always trick her into coming to the hotel." Ric said after another pause. "Tell her you are taking her out to dinner or something then remember you forgot something at your hotel room. Danny you are going to bring Tatem and David right?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah. We can't leave them in the dark. Getting Levi there won't be easy. So I guess we won't."  
  
  
  
"I think this idea could actually work." Uncle Ric said. "Look I've got to pick up my grandkids. Call me when you know more and we can go from there."  
  
  
  
I hung up with Uncle Ric with a sigh. Maybe this could work after all. I wonder how my family will react to seeing them again.  
  
  
  
I thought about Jason. I would have to make sure he didn't come along. That would be a disaster waiting to happen. I don't think he would be happy to see dad and I'm sure the feeling would be mutual.  
  
  
  
I called Uncle Eddy to find out when they were going to Atlanta and where they would be staying. I didn't let on what we were planning. I knew he would have ended the idea quickly. Eddy said they probably wouldn't leave for a week. Too much stuff to pack and they needed a little more time to make it discreet. I asked him to let me know so I could make reservations at the same hotel. He thought it was a good idea.  
  
  
  
After I hung up with Uncle Eddy I called Athena. I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her since the RAW in Atlanta. She luckily was home.  
  
  
  
"Hello?"  
  
  
  
"Hey it's me Danny."  
  
  
  
"Hey Danny. Where have you been?"  
  
  
  
"We had to check something." Well that wasn't a lie but I wasn't allowed to tell her the truth either.  
  
  
  
"What was it?" I could tell she really wanted to know. But I couldn't tell her.  
  
  
  
"I can't tell you. They made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone."  
  
  
  
"You could have at least told us where you were going. You scared Megan and the rest of us. I hate all of these secrets everyone's keeping. And even you are keeping them!"  
  
  
  
"I know and I'm sorry." I quickly changed the subject. "I took Megan to see my dad today."  
  
  
  
"How'd she take seeing him again?" I was glad I changed the subject.   
  
  
  
"Really well. She needed to see dad." I might as well tell her about what Megan, Uncle Ric, and I were planning. "The cabin is moving to a hotel in Atlanta for the trial. Megan, Ric, and I are planning to reunite my parents."  
  
  
  
There was a pause. Maybe telling her wasn't a good idea. But she wouldn't tell the others would she? "I wonder if I can do that with my family though it would be hard, if not impossible, to get my family to come down to Atlanta."  
  
  
  
She did have a point. Then a thought hit me. Didn't Bischoff tell me the other day that he had a pilot's license and that was how they moved dad and Steve? I wonder if he can send Owen up to see his family? Should I tell Athena that? I wondered. I was about to when I heard a doorbell ring or something.  
  
  
  
"I have to go. That's probably Uncle Bret. Call me later."   
  
  
  
Click  
  
  
  
These could be some interesting family reunions. 


	72. Ironic Convincing

This part is from Athena's POV and picks up right where 71 left off. I love irony here.  
  
As soon as I hung up with Danny, I went to the door of my apartment to see who it was. Sure enough it was Uncle Bret. Just the man I wanted to talk to anyways.  
  
"Just got back from seeing Eddy," Uncle Bret said after he sat down. "Apparently since the trial's going to be in Atlanta, everybody from the cabin's moving to a hotel there for the duration of it."  
  
"That's what Danny told me," I replied. "I just talked to him on the phone."  
  
Uncle Bret nodded. "I forgot Danny was talking his sister up there. Did he tell you how Megan took things?"  
  
"He said she took things quite well," I answered. I wondered how to phrase what I wanted to ask him next. I didn't want to seem selfish, but at the same time, it was something I'd been thinking about for a long time. Even before Danny mentioned what he was planning.  
  
"Uncle Bret," I asked, "what about reuniting Dad with the rest of the family? Before the trial I mean?"  
  
"What brought this on?" he asked. I hesitated. I really didn't want to mention what Danny was doing with his family, if only for the fact of the possibility of it getting back to Eddy and Eddy putting the kibosh on the whole thing for both of us. But how did I explain without giving up Danny?   
  
Then Uncle Bret shook his head. "Forget I asked that. Of course you want to reunite your parents. Hell I'd be surprised if Danny didn't want to reunite his parents, though from what I've gathered, that might not be the best thing for Danny to do."  
  
"Why not?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I get the feeling that Chris is reluctant to go home and Nancy; well Nancy was never a woman that took well to be lied to. Last man that did that was singing soprano for a week and I have a feeling that I don't want to be anywhere near 10 feet of Nancy when she finds out Chris is alive."  
  
Maybe I should tell Uncle Bret what Danny's planning, but: "how do you think Mom will take it?" This was a valid question now.  
  
Uncle Bret sighed. "I don't know. I don't think anybody would be happy about being lied to. And being lied to about your husband being dead and keeping it from you for 19 years is one hell of a secret."  
  
"But I do know that your Mom never moved on, not like Nancy George did. I'd like to think once she gets over the shock and some anger at being lied to she'd be happy to see your father alive again. I think a piece of her died that night when everything went down at Kemper. She was never the same after that.  
  
"They said the same thing about you too," I pointed out.  
  
Uncle Bret smiled. "Touché. I think this could work, but I think we need to talk to your father first. He might be like Chris and not want to go home."  
  
I nodded. It made sense and I really didn't want to follow Danny's example and ambush my parents. Mom's already mad enough as it is with me for keeping my training a secret and pulling something like that would just make things worse even if I was going to have to ambush her with Dad anyways. I didn't want Dad mad at me either. So off we headed for the cabin   
  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The cabin was about half empty when we got there. I guess everybody really was leaving. I wonder who actually owns the cabin. Is it the FBI's or somebody else's?  
  
When we suggested the reunion to Dad, he seemed reluctant. Not necessarily out of not wanting to go home. I could see in his eyes he very much wanted to. It's like he - I don't know, didn't to make anybody mad or something? If that made any sense. For awhile I was afraid I'd have to resort to what Danny was planning for his family. Then something happened.  
  
"Owen, I know you want to go home," Uncle Bret was saying for about the millionth time it seemed.  
  
"Look Bret, Athena, I appreciate what you're trying to do but there's no - "  
  
"Go home"  
  
All three of us jumped at the gravely voice that suddenly cut into our conversation. I hadn't realized that there was the possibility of anybody listening in on us. We all turned to see Chris Benoit standing in the doorway of the livingroom.  
  
"Chris, I - " My Dad started to say.  
  
"I said go home Owen." Danny's father said, coming to sit alongside Uncle Bret on the couch. I was sitting on the edge of the coffee table.  
  
"Don't say no, just because I don't want to."  
  
"But Martha - "  
  
"Never moved on. Not like Nancy did." Chris said, an almost faraway look of regret in the older man's eyes. "Look Nancy, David, Tatem, they've all moved on and managed to have quite manageable lives without me. I don't want to ruin that for Nancy. Martha never stopped missing you, and neither did most of your family. Go home. See your wife and son again and meet your grandchildren."  
  
Now I'm wondering if what Danny's planning really IS a good idea.   
  
My Dad was almost near tears. He slowly nodded and turned to Uncle Bret and me.   
  
"I guess I'm going home with you two then," my Dad said with a small smile.   
  
Yay!  
  
Of course I just had to pick that moment to think of all the problems. "But how are we going to do this? Mom would smell something if I tried to get her down to Atlanta, of course she still mad at me at any rate. We can't just up and hop on a commercial plane to Canada, not with all the publicity going around - "  
  
"Let me handle that," Uncle Bret going to the phone beside the couch and dialing.   
  
"Who are you calling?" Dad asked.   
  
"Eric Bischoff," my Uncle replied. "Eddie wasn't the only one to keep your being alive a secret from me and I figure he owes me a huge favor."  
  
Oh this was going to be interesting.  
  
"Eric? It's Bret. Listen do you still have that plane and do you have your license up to date?"  
  
Guess we were on our way to Canada. 


	73. Bad Reunion

"Yeah I'll be there in a few minutes. I had to do something before I pick up dinner. No it's not McDonalds. Kentucky Fried Chicken. Megan wants what? Okay. I'll see you soon." I hung up with a smile. I was just talking to my dad on my cellphone. As far as he knows, I'm picking up food for him, Megan and me. It's been a week since Megan saw. Dad and the others have been in Atlanta a day or so and dad said he's already sick of McDonald's.  
  
But in reality I'm picking up mom and Tatem. I had told them I was taking them out to dinner at mom's favorite restaurant. I had used the excuse that I hadn't seen her lately. Well it was true though. I really hoped Jason wasn't home.  
  
I knocked on the door. The door opened and mom was standing there. She gave me a hug before letting me in. Tatem was standing there also. Mom went over to the wall and was hitting numbers.  
  
I looked at my watch. I had told my dad I was going to be there soon. "Mom come on we are going to be late for our reservations." I said as she grabbed her purse. "Just a second Daniel I need to make sure I turn the security on. You wouldn't believe all that's been disappearing from this house. It was Jason's idea that we put this in when we leave."  
  
"What's been disappearing?" I asked. She hadn't told me that things were missing and now I wanted to know what they were. I looked around the house and didn't see anything major missing.   
  
"The box I keep in the attic that has some papers of your father's, a photo album, an old address book, some of the tapes I keep in the attic. Whoever it was didn't take anything but stuff in the attic. And it's all old stuff."  
  
Uncle Eddy should hear about this. Someone was taking dad's stuff and I wondered why. I looked at my watch again. "What's got you in such a hurry?" Tatem asked. Huh? I looked up to see Tatem giving me a funny look.   
  
"You know me. I don't like being late." Luckily, that was true. She seemed to believe that. I looked around. I didn't hear Jason or Trevor anywhere. "Hey where's Jason and Trevor?"  
  
"They went to some father/son baseball game. They invited me but I told them you were taking Tatem and I out. Jason promised to film it. Oh and he said to say hi." She hit one final number. "Let's go before the alarm goes off."  
  
We got into my truck. It was a short drive to Days Inn Downtown. Tatem and mom were talking about the school Misha and Trevor go to. It was the same elementary school Tatem and I had gone to. Poor Trevor has Mr. Weber. I had him in that grade. He was a tough teacher.   
  
As we drove, I pretended to look for something. I thought pretending to forget my wallet was a feasible reason to go back to the hotel. "Darn it! I forgot my wallet at my hotel room."  
  
Mom sighed. "I still don't see why you are staying at a hotel Daniel. You are more then welcome to stay at the house." She had invited me to stay at her house. Tatem had invited me to stay at her house too. But I had wanted to be with dad.  
  
"I know but everyone else is staying there." She already knew Eddy was staying there. We arrived at the hotel and I said "Come on up for a second."  
  
Mom looked at her watch. "So much for being on time huh?" I shrugged. I was later then I had intended to be but she didn't know that.   
  
They followed me up to room 958. I slid the key in the door and opened it. I walked in. Dad and Megan were sitting on one of the beds watching TV. They both looked up when we entered.  
  
"Hey Daniel about time you got..." my dad started to say and froze. He jaw literally dropped.   
  
"Chris?" Tatem and mom said at the same time. They stood there looking absolutely speechless. I almost thought my mother was going to faint but she didn't. My mother really wasn't the fainting type anyway.  
  
Dad looked at me with fire in his eyes. "I told you I didn't want to see them." He growled out.  
  
"They had a right to know!" I shot back. "They would have found out in a couple days at the trial."  
  
"How long have you known Danny?" Tatem asked. I could hear the hurt tone in her voice.  
  
"A couple months." I said quietly.   
  
"You've known a couple months that your dad's been alive and you didn't tell us!" Tatem looked like she was going to lose it. "He may not be my father but I had a right to know!" I remember when Ric had told dad the same thing.   
  
I sat on the bed next to the one Megan was sitting on. I realized that maybe this wasn't such a great idea. Dad was mad at me for bringing them. Tatem was mad at me for not telling her and well I don't know what my mother was thinking since she hadn't said a word since then. I looked over at Megan who was staring at anything but me, dad or Tatem.   
  
Dad walked over to Tatem and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell any of you guys."  
  
He moved to hug mom but she just stared at him.  
  
"I'm sorry Nancy..." He started to say. She actually slapped him! Dad looked as shocked as I felt. "Mom..." I started to say and backed up when I saw the fire in her eyes. The fire in her eyes almost matched the same one dad had gave me. I knew not to talk to her right now. She turned back to dad.  
  
"Chris why didn't you let us know you were alive? What was going to happen? I was going to find out in the courtroom when they listed your name as a witness? When we saw you at the trial? When Chris? When!"  
  
Dad sat down on the other bed. "I hadn't wanted to tell you Nancy. I know you are married to Jason George and you have a son named Trevor. I didn't want this to hurt that."  
  
"Chris legally I'm not married to him anymore. And yeah Trevor's going to be caught in this the worst but why damn it didn't you tell me you had survived the powerbomb?"  
  
"Because if I did who knows what Vince would have done." He was saved by a knock on the door. But he looked nervous about who it could possible be. Megan and I knew who it would be.  
  
I got up and looked through the peephole. Ric was there. I opened the door. Ric stepped through, and as I was about to close the door someone else followed him in.   
  
It was my brother David. He looked at me and stopped as soon as he saw dad. He was awfully pale.  
  
"Just don't tell me my mother or ex-wife are coming." Dad said into his hands.   
  
"Dad?" David asked confused.   
  
"I don't believe this! Is there anyone in this family who knew besides you two?" Mom asked turning to face Megan and me. I just shook my head. She looked at the ceiling for a second as if gathering her words carefully. "Chris I can never forgive you for this. Never." She ran out of the room.  
  
I went after her leaving the others in the room. I found her standing in front of the elevators. "Mom..."  
  
"Daniel how could you not tell me your father was alive?" She demanded. "You've known a couple of months but never said anything!"  
  
"I wanted to but they wouldn't let me. Mom I'm sorry please come back in..." she looked furious again.  
  
"No. I'll take a cab home. Give Tatem a ride home. I can't go back in there." The elevator arrived. I didn't try to stop her. She needed to be alone I think.   
  
This was a bad idea. 


	74. Welcome Home

Since I didn't do it at the end of 69, I'll make note of the songs referred there here. Long black Train is written and recorded by Josh Turner and My Immortal is sung by Evanensce.  
  
And we begin our journey back to Canada :-D  
  
It'd been a week since me and Uncle Bret finally managed to convince Dad to come back to Canada. Or more accurately, since Chris Benoit convinced Dad to come home to Canada. Danny told me he planned to bring his parents together the next day. I hope Danny knows what he's doing.  
  
We met Eric at the airport at around dawn. He told us something interesting and upsetting. He said that Shawn Michaels was turning State's witness against Vince and Hunter and was going to state in court that he and Hunter and a few of their buddies helped to cause Brian Pillman and Curt Hennig's deaths. Poor Cam's going to be absolutely devastated when he finds out.   
  
The ride to Canada was mostly uneventful. I heard Dad remark on the way there "I can't believe the original is gone." I missed the meaning until I looked out the window when we were over New York and realized he was referring to the Old World Trade Center site that was destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001. I remember Mom keeping me away from the TV for most of that day, not wanting me to see some of the scenes coming out of New York City. I heard afterward that some TV networks aired footage of people jumping out of burning windows. I've never seen it. They put a new WTC and memorial about 5 years ago. The restriction of airspace over it was lifted about a year ago.   
  
Uncle Bret called Aunt Julie before we left and finally told her everything that was going on. I don't think she was too pleased that she was kept in the dark something this big. She had some inkling that something was going on that had to do with Vince since me and Uncle Bret left the tapes that Eric had sent to us (the reason Uncle Bret was having him fly us to Canada) when we headed off that fateful day to Louisville, which meant we didn't have to explain too much about Chris Benoit being alive as well. According to my Uncle she seemed to take it rather well. Which was good, since we were staying at Uncle Bret and Aunt Julie's house before facing my mother and brother the next day. Uncle Bret and Dad haven't decided how to break it to the rest of the family yet.  
  
Would it be too petty to wish two of my aunts would drop dead at seeing my Dad after all the hell they've put their own family through following his 'death?'  
  
We landed in Canada in mid morning, but we waited until late afternoon before leaving the plane so as to take advantage of the darkness late afternoon tends to bring in winter. On the way to Uncle Bret's we stopped by the cemetery so Dad could visit Grandma Helen and Grandpa Stu's graves. I sort of stayed with Eric Bischoff out of the way while Dad and Uncle Bret shared a moment alone at their parents' final resting places.  
  
We got to Uncle Bret and Aunt Julie's at about 7pm local time. As we pulled up in the rental car Eric had managed to procure, we noticed, not only Aunt Julie's car, but three other cars as well. One I didn't recognize, the other two I knew all to well and let out a groan as a result.  
  
"Great," I muttered, "Ellie and Diana have perfect timing don't they." I saw Uncle Bret's and Dad's eyes get hard at the mention of my aunts names. Bischoff didn't look all that happy to see them either.  
  
"Your Uncle Lance is hear too," Uncle Bret muttered. I looked closer. Oh yeah, that was Lance Storm's car. I hadn't seen him around in awhile.  
  
"Now what?" Eric asked. We all knew what he meant: Did we stay here or go in and face some serious fireworks?  
  
I was the one that answered for most all of us: "We can't stay here forever."  
  
Eric snorted. "Yeah well, I am. No offense, guys, I'd rather not be punched first and then asked what my involvement is in this after the fact."  
  
I shrugged. It probably WAS best for me, Uncle Bret, and Dad to go in first anyways before Eric put in any appearances. Besides he was the only one of us that was checking into a hotel for the duration of our stay.   
  
So the three of us that were going to face family and friends with the whole truth got out of the car and headed for the house. As we let ourselves through Uncle Bret's front door, we could hear a heated conversation going on between my Aunt Julie and my other two aunts:  
  
"Oh come on Julie, we didn't know!" That was Ellie.  
  
"Didn't know!? Didn't know?!" My Aunt Julie bit out, "So that gives you the excuse to try and ruin Athena's life by ratting her out to Stephanie that she was training to wrestle? Or that she threatened Athena when she turned her down?!  
  
"You did What?!?" that was my uncle Lance. He was normally a pretty even leveled guy but I guess the news of what Vince had done and now learning what Ellie had done. "Do you have any idea how much danger you put Athena in?!"  
  
"Geez, Ellie, I didn't think you could be so cold," that was Lance's second wife, Dawn Marie who he married about 10 years ago.  
  
"Come off, it, Ellie didn't mean any harm. She thought she was doing Athena a favor," Diana's haughty voice, with the slight Brit tone she'd got from her late husband, rang out. I wonder if my cousin Harry knows how much of an ice queen his mother is?  
  
Apparently my Dad couldn't take much more of my aunts defending their pro - McMahon actions, so he decided to make his presence known as we came into the living room.  
  
"A favor Diana? Where you doing anybody but yourself any favors when you wrote that book of yours? Were you and Ellie doing anybody any favors when you inadvertently helped Vince cover up the fact that he tried to kill me? You really think you were doing Athena a favor Ellie by putting her life in jeopardy with the McMahons?" My Dad said, his voice quite but intense and I don't think I ever saw such venom in his eyes.  
  
All the participants in the living room turned around sharply to the direction of the unexpected voice. My Aunt Julie was shocked, but not surprised. Of course she had advanced warning. Uncle Lance looked about in shock and his wife and Diana looked like they'd seen a ghost. Ellie looked absolutely frightened.  
  
"O- Owen?" Diana stammered out.  
  
"Hey, sis, long time no see," Dad said, sarcasm evident in his voice.  
  
Ellie fainted. 


	75. More Reunions

Still in Canada. We'll be in Canada for quite awhile. Still in Athena's   
  
Well, this is fun.  
  
We're sitting in my Aunt Julie and Uncle Bret's house after getting in from Kentucky and pretty much all hell has broken loose.  
  
After we walked in on my aunts Diana and Ellie arguing with Aunt Julie, Lance Storm and his wife Dawn Marie, my dad decided to announce his presence by lashing out at his sisters, not undeserved in my opinion. Now Ellie was passed out on one of our couches, Diana looked like she wasn't far from it, herself, and me, Uncle Bret, and my Dad were getting bombarded with questions from four people at once (though Aunt Julie's was more of the "how was your trip variety, not the 'what the hell are you doing back from the dead?' questions my dad was getting).  
  
There was a knock on the door in the midst of all the questioning. Ellie still hadn't woken up yet. Should I have been worried?  
  
Lance spoke: "That's probably Raven, he went for a smoke when Ellie and Diana got here. Probably missed you guys coming up."  
  
Uncle Bret nodded, "I'll get it," he said, heading for the door.  
  
He opened the door, to reveal Scott Levy a.k.a. Raven all right. But he also had Eric Bischoff by the neck of his jacket and shirt and what looked like to be the beginnings of a pretty mean black eye.  
  
"Wanna explain why HE was waiting outside your house?" Raven asked.  
  
"I wanted to make sure there was no bloodshed?" Eric answered while trying to get out of the death grip Levy had on him.  
  
"Seems like you cause bloodshed yourself. Or are you going to deny once again that you had nothing to do with Kemper?" I winced when he said that. I heard that a lot in OVW from Vince supporters. A lot of people who are pro - Vince McMahon tend to blame anybody that's anti - Vince for everything under the sun. I know there was a lot of heavy speculation around the time that my dad died over what exactly caused his 'death.' Some people stated that Eric had ordered my Dad's murder to set himself very close to my Dad and keep him away from Vince McMahon. Personally, though I know that Bischoff's done some pretty underhanded stuff according to Ric Flair and Shane McMahon, I couldn't see why he would order my Dad's murder than be one of the chief mourners at his funeral. Then again Vince McMahon himself did a pretty good job of acting like he was sorry my Dad died. At least I know who was really behind my Dad's 'death.'  
  
"Eric had nothing to do with it Scott," Uncle Bret said quietly. "It was completely McMahon and Russo's idea."  
  
"Oh come off it Bret," Levy started, "I know you hate Vince but - "  
  
"It's true Raven," My Dad suddenly called out. "It was all Vince."  
  
The color of Scott Levy's face completely faded away, reminding me of that day in Danny's apartment when I blurted out in front of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and my uncle that my Dad was alive. Fortunately the man they called Raven didn't faint. Yet.  
  
"What the fucking hell?!!" Levy shouted dropping Eric Bischoff whom landed on the carpeted floor of our living room with a soft thud. "How? What?"  
  
"You can thank Eddy Guerrero," Eric explained rubbing at his throat. "Apparently if he hadn't overheard Nash and Hall bragging about what was going to happen at Kemper in April, Owen really would've been dead. Vince was gung - ho to kill him to payback Bret for leaving."  
  
"Oh really?" Diana asked finding her voice in the mist of all of this. She's probably the only one of us that really hated Eric, seeing as her late husband was fired shortly after jumping to WCW after suffering an injury. "What about Chris Benoit? I suppose Eddy didn't hear them allegedly plotting his murder as well?" I winced at that word allegedly. Why did I know Danny's dad was going to come up?  
  
Those of us who knew the truth kinda exchanged glances with each other, wondering what the hell to say. Lance Storm caught the glances.  
  
"No, way!" he exclaimed, finally putting two and two together, "Chris is alive too?"  
  
My Uncle and my Dad nodded and Scott Levy let out a string of curse words.  
  
"Jesus fucking Christ! Is there anybody else coming back from the dead that I should know about?" he shouted.  
  
My uncle sat down in one of the chairs, "Not that I know of Scotty," he said with a sigh. As he said that I caught a flash of something in my Dad's eyes that I couldn't quite decipher. I didn't have anymore time to dwell on it since Ellie started to come too.  
  
"Ooooh," she moaned. "I thought I had a nightmare or some - " she trailed off when she saw my Father. I thought she was going to faint again, but no such luck.  
  
"Owen?" she asked sitting up.  
  
"Yeah, it's me. Alive and well, no thanks to Vince," my Dad spat out. I'd never heard such anger in his voice. I wonder how much of that had to do with what Ellie did telling Stephanie about my training?  
  
Ellie had the sense to look downcast and remorseful.   
  
"I'm sorry," she said softly.  
  
"Sorry Ellie? For what? For you and Diana tearing this family apart? For potentially putting Mom and Dad in early graves with your antics? For siding with the guy that tried to have me killed? Or worse for putting my daughter in jeopardy by going to his daughter? Did you know that Stephanie tried to blackmail Athena? That she threatened Athena when she turned own Stephanie's offer? That Athena would suffer my fate sharpshooting the bitch?" I could see shock in the eyes of everybody in the room but Uncle Bret's and Eric's. Uncle Bret knew what happened already and likely Bischoff did as well since he was probably the person that told Eddy that Vince had kidnaped Danny because of what I did.  
  
Diana looked about ready to open her mouth again. I she'd said something stupid or defended Vince still after that I'd have punched her, blood relative or not. But Ellie spoke up before she could.  
  
"I think we better go," Ellie said standing up on unsteady feet and walking towards the door. "Maybe I'll come by later and talk," She at least looked remorseful about what she had done. Did Aunt Diana feel the same? I doubt it. Ellie cast an apologetic look around the room as she and Diana walked out the door.  
  
My Dad, Eric, Uncle Bret and I had just started explaining things when the doorbell rang. Uncle Bret got up and answered it. It was my Uncle Bruce.  
  
"Hey, Bret, I was stopping by to check on Julie, but I'm glad your home. She was worried about you and Athena when you guys just disappeared up out of no - " his speech was stopped in its tracks when he laid eyes on my Father.  
  
"O - Owen?" My Uncle stammered.  
  
"Hey Bruce," my Dad said.   
  
"I think I need to sit down," my Uncle said, sliding down into the chair that a few moments ago had been occupied by Uncle Bret.  
  
As we started from the top again, I started getting nervous. If things were going to be this explosive tonight then what the hell was tomorrow morning going to be like when my Mom saw my Dad again for the first time in almost 20 years? What was going to be her reaction? Or my brother's for that matter?  
  
Suddenly I was greatly dreading tomorrow. 


	76. It Runs in the Family

I think this is what some people have been waiting for :-)  
  
When I woke up at Uncle Bret's this morning the first think I saw plastered in the newspapers was Cam's dad being taken into custody and the news of his confessions. Poor Cam, he has to be absolutely devastated. I really do feel sorry for him.   
  
I don't feel sorry for Vince and Stephanie. They were both finally getting what they deserved. Vince was getting socked with a divorce and Shane had taken defacto ownership of both WCW and WWF. He said he was thinking of folding the WWF. Their trial starts in a few weeks and I get the feeling that not everything's been revealed about what Vince and his daughter have done. We've been told it'll all come out in court. Danny knows something since he'd accompanied Eddy and Eric on that mysterious trip to Texas the night Vince was taken down. I can't wait to see the look on Vince McMahon's face when some of the 'surprise witness's' were announced in court. That'll be priceless. Wonder if the old bastard will drop dead?  
  
I called Danny before I left Uncle Bret's. He said he was getting his parents together later that day. Part of me really wanted to talk him out of this. I don't know why but I had this gut feeling about it ending horribly. But I couldn't, so I wished him luck and headed to my Mom's. Dad, Uncle Bret, and me decided it would be best if I faced Mom and Oje alone before Uncle Bret and Dad came over since I still had some issues with Mom over my training. Plus maybe I could tell Mom about Dad 'before' she saw him.  
  
I got pounced on by my Mom and brother as soon as I walked through Mom's door. Mom ranted about how given the evidence against Vince about my Dad, that I was more foolish than ever about being a wrestler. Oje backed her up saying I should quite now before Vince retaliated. I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and I really needed to before Uncle Bret and Dad got there.  
  
"Look, why can't you understand! Wrestling is something that I want to do! Vince is NOT going to retaliate!" I shouted. At least I sure HOPED that Vince didn't retaliate.  
  
"I don't care! Look at all the pain it's caused this family! Do you want to cause even more?! Do you want to bring any more undue media attention on this family by getting yourself killed!?" my Mom fired back. She may have had a point about the media attention. It seemed like every media conglomerate in the world had converged on everybody involved with my family, especially since it seemed that my Grandfather had been proven right afterall when he said Vince had something to do with my Dad's 'death.' Uncle Bret and the rest of the family handled the media the best they could and kept the hounds for the most part away from my Mom and brother.  
  
"Athena, Mom's right! Why won't you listen to her?" Oje said backing Mom up. It was a circular argument that had been going around between me, my mother and my brother ever since they found out about my training. I'm surprised that they didn't come to Louisville and kidnap me back to Stamford; of course Uncle Bret was in Louisville most of the time since they'd found out so I guess that wasn't really a feasible option for them. It'd only gotten worse in the last month or so since the revelations about Vince.  
  
The doorbell rang. Part of me was hoping it wasn't who I thought it would be and another part of me was excited because I knew who it was at the door. "I'll get it," I said getting up to answer the door. I was fed up with the arguing anyway.  
  
I opened my door and sure enough, my Dad and Uncle Bret were on the other side of it. I went to give my Dad a hug. Just then I heard my Mom storm in.  
  
"Young lady, I don't care who's at the door, I'm not fini - " my Mom cut off upon seeing Dad and Uncle Bret. More to the point of seeing Dad.  
  
I've never seen my Mom look so unsure in all my life. Fear, concern, doubt, and hope all played on her features.  
  
"O - Owen?" my Mom asked.  
  
"Martha," my Dad said tentatively.  
  
Then Mom fainted.  
  
"Mom!" I shouted as Dad caught her.  
  
"Mom!" Oje shouted coming from the dining room where we'd been arguing just a few seconds ago to the front hallway where our tiny crowd was gathered. Then my brother locked eyes on our Dad. A few seconds later I saw Oje mouth "Dad?" then pass out as well. I looked at the scene with an almost hilarious view thinking about how this family reunion got set in motion a few months ago in Danny Benoit's apartment.  
  
"Fainting seems to run in the family," I said looking at Uncle Bret, who had the grace to look sheepish at that comment.  
  
There ya go. Two family reunions down, one to go. :-) 


	77. Guilt

SMACK!  
  
  
  
SMACK!  
  
"Ow!" my brother muttered finally coming out of his fainting spell. "Cut it out Athena!"  
  
"You deserved that. I swear, you'd faint at a baby's birth, in fact, you DID faint at a baby's birth!" I said, referring to the time he fainted in the delivery room when his son, Tim was born a five years ago. Geez. And men say WE'RE prone to fainting most of the time?  
  
"You try being in a delivery room and see how it feels," he muttered starting to sit up and clear his head. He had this confused look on his face as if trying to remember how he ended up passing up in the first place. Then we both heard a chuckle behind us and turned around to see my dad with a smile on his face.  
  
"Martha nearly broke my hand when you were born," my Dad said.  
  
I looked at my brother. A mixture of anger, fear, hope and I don't know what else danced across his face as though he didn't know what else to do. He got up off the one of the couches we'd laid him and Mom on after they passed out at the front door and went to our Dad, who stood up also. They seemed to stare at each other for a few minutes before Oje embraced Dad. I thought I saw my brother beginning to cry also.   
  
"How?" Oje sniffled.  
  
"I think that should wait for your Mom to wake up," Uncle Bret said. As soon as he said that my Mom started stirring.  
  
"Oooooooooooh, what happened," My Mom said sitting up with Uncle Bret's assistance. "Bret, what's going on, the last thing I remember was," then she turned around and saw Dad and Oje hugging.  
  
"O - Owen?" Mom said. I hoped she didn't faint again.  
  
"Hey, honey," Dad said, going over to sit down next to my Mom.  
  
Mom reached out to touch his face, almost tentative in doing it, her fingers shaking. As her hand lightly touched Dad's cheek, she suddenly swung her arms around him in a tight hug.   
  
"You're here," Mom said sobbing, I can't remember the last time I saw either my Mom or my brother cry.  
  
"Shh, yeah, I'm here," Dad said soothing her.  
  
Uncle Bret gave me a look. "Um, me and Uncle Bret are going to get some drinks from the kitchen, we'll be back in a few minutes," I spoke up, both me and Uncle Bret figuring it would be best to leave Mom, Oje, and Dad to their own private reunion before we told everything.  
  
We went into the kitchen to get some water bottles out of the fridge. It was far enough away to where we weren't disturbing anything but close enough to where we could come back in just in case a blowup happened or something. As much as that had been my fear, somehow I get the gut feeling that's not going to happen now. We sat down at the kitchen table.  
  
"I think I understand now," I said.  
  
"Understand what Athey?" Uncle Bret said.  
  
"While Oje backed Mom up with such vehemence that night I told them about my training. I didn't understand why he said what he said, but over the last few weeks, especially with you and Dad and everything, I realize he wanted to protect me. He didn't want me getting hurt. Like you don't want any of the rest of the family to get hurt." I answered.  
  
"Yeah," Uncle Bret snorted. "Some big brother I was."  
  
"Uncle Bret - " I began.  
  
"I'm his older brother Athena," Uncle Bret interrupted me softly, explaining. "I was supposed to watch out for him. But I couldn't even keep my youngest brother and his family from being hurt by Vince. I spent fourteen years wondering what would've happened if I'd stayed. If I hadn't gone to work for Eric, maybe Owen wouldn't have gotten killed. Now I wonder if I'd stayed if maybe I could've prevented Owen from being away from his family for so long."  
  
I was quiet for a moment not knowing what to say.  
  
"Ever think that maybe if you'd stayed, maybe you'd been the one that Vince would've killed and not the other way around?" I said in just as soft a voice, "Then who would've protected the family?"  
  
"I spent a lot of dark nights, during those early years after your Dad's 'death' thinking that it should've been me." Uncle Bret admitted.  
  
"Talk to Dad about this?" I asked.  
  
"No, I don't think he needed me heaping my guilt on him,"  
  
"Maybe you should talk to him. It might help," I said.   
  
Uncle Bret nodded. There was really nothing else that neither of us could say at the moment so we went back into the living room, and finally explained things. Mom and Oje went from angry to horrified to happy to all sorts of different feelings. Me, Dad, and Uncle Bret wisely decided now was NOT the best time to bring up me putting Stephanie Helmsley in the Sharpshooter. It'll probably come up soon seeing as it'll probably be brought up at trial, if I'm called up on the stand, but for now, Mom and Oje really didn't need to know. Neither one was happy that Dad was kept from them for 14 years, but I think both were just so happy he was home that I don't think it occurred to either of them to get mad at Dad for it. We did tell them about Chris Benoit as we felt it was only fair seeing as what happened the night before with Ellie, Lance Storm, Diana, and Raven.   
  
It was around 6 when everything was finally out in the open. Oje was going back to his house to explain things to Melody, with plans to bring Tim over tomorrow morning to meet his Grandpa (Dad had this goofy grin on his face at that), Me and Uncle Bret were going back to his and Aunt Julie's house. Mom wanted Dad to stay over with her in her - THEIR house. Mom made it clear that she didn't want my Dad out of her sight for awhile.  
  
When Uncle Bret and me got back to his house, Danny called, crying. Apparently his reunion was everything I feared mine would be and then some. By the time we'd hung up I felt incredibly guilty and like crying at the same time.  
  
How could one reunion go so incredibly wonderful and the other go so incredibly disastrous?  
  
I didn't get much sleep that night.  
  
That wasn't so bad? :-D One Atlanta chapter then we'll head back up to Canada for 79. 


	78. A New Theory

78: Atlanta, written by Dana, and is in Danny's POV. Any questions?  
  
I decided not to go after my mother. I had a feeling she needed to be alone. I wiped away the tears that were starting to fall. What had I done? I wondered. I was hoping reuniting my parents would be a good thing. I hadn't expected mom to slap dad in the face. I guess after everyone else's reaction to finding out maybe I should have known.   
  
I didn't want to go back into the room right away. I knew they would yell at me. I deserved to be yelled at but I wasn't ready for it. But then again if I just stood here that could attract attention. Oh I don't know what to do!  
  
I stood there just staring at the elevator door. My mother hates me. Or at least I think she does. She didn't say anything directly to me about how she felt about me not telling her. But if her reaction to dad was any clue then she does. What a mess.   
  
I walked back into dad's hotel room feeling a bit worried. Would he yell at me for bringing mom there without his permission? I know he wouldn't have given me permission even if I had asked.  
  
It was a bit calmer then I thought it would be. I had thought there would be yelling or screaming. But no it was rather peaceful. Dad was hugging David and David who didn't do it often was crying. But would I have expected anything else? Tatem was looking at me strangely. I was pretty sure I knew why. Megan and Uncle Ric were standing off to the side.  
  
After giving Tatem a hug, dad turned to face me. "I told you I didn't want to see anyone else." He looked angry. But then again, so did Tatem. David looked really confused. I nodded solemnly.  
  
"We thought it would only be right for you to see Nancy, Tatem, and David again." Uncle Ric said.  
  
"Was this your idea Ric?" Dad asked turning to face him.  
  
"No it was mine." Megan answered. "I agree with Ric. It was only right."  
  
Now it was Tatem's turn to talk. "Just how long have you guys known about this?"  
  
"Me a week. Danny and Ric I don't know." Megan answered.  
  
"Almost three months." I answered. Tatem sighed. "I would have told you guys if I could."  
  
Dad sat heavily down on the bed. "This isn't how I wanted to see you guys again. But I guess it as going to happen eventually. You all look great." He gave us a weak smile. I could see the tears in his eyes. "I understand I'm a grandpa."  
  
"Yeah. I have two boys Nick and Kelly." He took out his wallet. "Kelly's seven and Nick's four. That's my wife Sally."  
  
Tatem stepped forward. "And I have a five year old girl named Misha." She handed him the picture.  
  
"They all beautiful children." Dad said looking like he was going to cry again. "I am sorry I wasn't around to see you all grow up."  
  
"Maybe I'll bring Nick and Kelly here for you to meet. How long are going to be staying at this hotel?"  
  
"Until the trial is over." Dad answered. "I have no idea how long it will go. It could be days or weeks. Maybe even months"  
  
There was a knock on the door. Dad ducked into the bathroom, which seemed to be the custom around here. I looked through the peephole not really knowing whom to expect. Shit! It's Uncle Eddy. I wonder why he's knocking on this door and not the connecting door. I opened the door bracing myself for the explosion that was sure to come.  
  
Eddy took two steps in I closed the door. Then Uncle Eddy exploded. "What are they all doing here?" He demanded turning to look at me. Why does he think it's me right away?  
  
"They had a right to know Eddy." Uncle Ric said. He sort of put himself between Uncle Eddy and me. "They'd have found out at the trail anyway."  
  
Uncle Eric looked around. Dad came back into the room. "I'm assuming you brought Nancy here too?" He asked looking at me again. I nodded. He started cursing. "Danny I need to talk to you."  
  
"Eddy it was my idea." Megan said. "I thought dad and Nancy should see each other again. Don't be mad at Danny."  
  
I was stunned. My sister had changed so much in the past week or so. I liked the new Megan.  
  
Eddy just nodded. "I need to talk to him about something else." He led me through two sets of connecting doors and even then he locked the door. "We are going to leave for San Antonio in a couple of days to pick up Austin. Eric thought you might want to come along."  
  
"Sure." I said. Why not? It made me feel useful. "About my mom finding out..."  
  
He looked as if to make sure the door was still closed. "Between you and me, I'm glad she did. Owen's going to see Martha and I'm glad neither of them will find out about it first from the papers. Though I do not look forward to Nancy finding out my involvement." He sighed. "I assume she didn't take the news well."  
  
"No. She slapped dad." Uncle Eddy did not look shocked he just nodded. "I tried to talk to her but she left quickly. She hates dad for what he did. And she hates me too."  
  
"I don't think she hates your dad. She probably was just shocked by it and didn't know how to react. If I remember correctly, when you found out you went right to my office. I'm not sure I want to know what would have happened if I wasn't picking up Shane and was in my office. It may have been better if I was but then again we wouldn't be gearing for Vince's trail. But this isn't how I imagined it would be." He had a wistful look in his eyes. I can't say I blame him. I'm sure no one imagined things would end up this way. "And I doubt very much that she hates you. She loves you. She's probably just like I said too shocked to really think."  
  
I nodded. It made sense I guess. Or at least I hoped what he said was true.   
  
"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about. I think it would be a good idea that you know before the trial. There's a theory I want to talk to you about. Have you ever heard of the Kliq?"  
  
I shook my head. Clique? What kind of clique? I wondered.  
  
"Well I have a theory that has been nicknamed the Kliq theory. The theory involves one of the worst groups of people backstage." He paused. "Well most were bad. There was only one exception and he wasn't involved in the later stuff. Anyway it was a group of seven men. They were: Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, PJ Walker, and Louie Spicolli. They pretty much ran things backstage from 1995 to May of 1996. They held a lot of talent down including Shane Douglas. They did a lot of underhanded things too. The exception is Louie Spicolli. He was in the group because he was a friend of Waltman and Hall. Spicolli was fired in 1995 because he was considered a health risk. PJ was fired too but I forget why. Both remained friends with the Kliq. Louie was even getting a push in WCW because he was good friends with Nash and Hall."  
  
He paused as if letting me absorb all that information. "I knew Louie Spicolli. In fact he was a friend of mine. We were in a group called Los Gringos Locos in Mexico when he wrestled as Madonna's Boyfriend. But back to the theory. Louie died in February of 1998. We know it wasn't a Vince crime. Then there was Rick Rude. He was a friend of Hunter and Shawn and this is where the theory applies most. Rick was in the WWF in 1997 as a member of Degeneration X but Vince had never signed him to a contract. Back then RAW was live every other week. He made history by being on both shows on the same night. Rick died in 1999 at his home in Atlanta less then a month before Owen 'died.' Under usual, for Vince, circumstances we'd think Vince's men had killed him but it wasn't so. That's where the theory comes into play. Friends of Shawn and Hunter are protected. Hall died a couple of years ago from kidney failure due to all of his drinking. But we are sure the rest of the group is still active and have been doing Vince's dirty work. With Shawn having confessed we are hoping that will clear things up better. Though the DA thinks Shawn will get out on bail. Which is kind of why I thought you should know. Just in case something does happen."  
  
I left when he picked up the phone. Well he asked me to leave first. I found dad, Uncle Ric, David, Tatem and Megan sitting on the two beds talking. David moved over slightly so I could sit next to him.   
  
I looked around the room. This is dad and Eddy's room. My room was a few floors up. I'm not quite sure why the rooms are that way but maybe it was a precautionary measure.   
  
Dad smiled as I sat down. "I was just telling David and Tatem what happened."  
  
"I want to kill Hunter and Vince myself." David said pounding his fist into his palm. David wasn't really the violent type so I was sort of surprised by his reaction. But I guess finding out three people tried to kill your father would bring that out in a person. Probably why mom slapped dad in the face. "I guess what Nancy's been saying is true."  
  
Dad nodded. "Yeah well I didn't know Daniel was training to be a wrestler until he showed up at the place I was living at. I was so shocked to see him standing there I fainted." Tatem, David, Megan and Uncle Ric all grinned. Uncle Ric was probably thinking of Bret's reaction to finding out Owen was alive. "I don't think I would have agreed to it either. Not after what Vince, Stephanie, and Hunter did. But I saw him wrestle. Not bad for someone still training." I was happy to hear my dad say that. It meant a lot to me.  
  
There was another knock on the door. Dad went into the bathroom. I looked through the peephole but didn't see anything. I felt a little nervous about this. We were probably hearing things. "It's okay." I said and dad walked back into the room looking uneasy. I know why. We were all worried someone would find out Owen and dad were alive and tell Vince and group. I sighed wondering if this was such a great idea being at this hotel. And now that I heard about this Kliq theory I feel even more uncomfortable. Eddy was worried they would do something, but to whom?  
  
I needed some fresh air so I stepped out into the hall and headed up to my room. I thought dad should spend some time with the others for a little bit before I gave Tatem a ride home. I decided to call Athena. She was going to be reuniting her parents today. I wonder how that had gone. Hopefully better then mine! After a couple of rings Athena answered. "Hello?"  
  
"It's me Danny."  
  
"Hey. How's your family reunion going?"   
  
"Not well at all. My mom slapped my dad in the face and left. Tatem and David are taking it well I think. How's yours?" I asked. I was hoping hers was going better then mine. Well I don't think it could go worse.  
  
"Great. My mom was so glad to see dad." I felt tears start to slide down my face. Hers was going so well at least her mother was happy to see Owen. I wish I could say the same about mine. But maybe I should have known since mom did remarry and her mother didn't. "Danny I'm sorry yours went badly."  
  
"Thanks." I wiped away the tears. I'm sure she could tell I was crying. "Enjoy the family reunion. I've got to go." I hung up. I just lay back on my bed with a sigh. What else could possibly go wrong? 


	79. Embarrassing Moment

Last Canadian chapter for awhile. Athena's POV.  
  
Uncle Bret and me met Oje, his wife, Mandy and their five-year-old son Tim, at Mom's house the following morning. Eric decided it would be best if he still didn't show up, considering what happened with Raven at Uncle Bret's. Probably a smart move.  
  
I still felt guilty over what happened with Danny's reunion. I had the feeling that it would go bad, but I didn't then it would go that badly. From what little Danny told me, it sounded like it turned out to be everything that I was afraid my family reunion would be. I truly feel sorry for him. I hope Eddy didn't get too mad at him for this.  
  
We walked into the door to find the house eerily quiet. I was worried. Where were Mom and Dad? I decided to go upstairs and look for Mom in her bedroom to see if she was still asleep. I opened the door to her room peeked in -   
  
- And promptly went right back out flying down the stairs embarrassed.  
  
"EW!" I yelled, which was probably a babyish thing to do, but hey, I felt like I was back to being an eight year old right then and there.  
  
"Athena?" Uncle Bret asked worry in his voice.  
  
"I, I stammered, "I, I, Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" the words forming into one at that point I couldn't process everything.  
  
"Mom, Dad" - I continued to stammer out, the words not quite coming. My brother picked that point to burst out laughing.  
  
"Not funny!" I bit out.  
  
"Yes, it is," my brother said still laughing, "geez, Athey, most people pick when their a lot younger to walk in on their parents. I did it the last time Dad was home," the laughing died out and was replaced by a wistful smile. Suddenly I wanted to kill Vince and his daughter all over again for robbing us of nearly 20 years with our Dad and Mom of her husband. Suddenly I wasn't sure any amount of justice would make things right again.  
  
Uncle Bret and Mandy looked uncomfortable; poor Timmy just looked confused, so Mandy took Tim in the kitchen for some Kool - Aid to drink. The rest of us moved into the living room. I probably looked as beet red as my hair often is at this point.  
  
Mom and Dad came downstairs a few minutes later. Mom was in the same robe she always wears whenever we visit, but Dad was wearing a robe that was vaguely familiar. As Mom laid her head on Dad's shoulder I realized I saw it around Mom a lot around the time Dad 'died.' It must have belonged to Dad before that fateful night in Kemper. I guess that shows just how deeply Mom cared about Dad to not give away or box away or throw out his robe.   
  
I think by that point the unspoken decision was to not bring up me walking in on Mom and Dad. It was probably embarrassing for everybody.  
  
Mandy and Tim came into the living room a few moments later. My Dad went over to Mandy and gave her a welcoming hug. I wonder how she felt about that. I'm not sure how I'd feel if my husband's father suddenly came back from the dead and gave me a hug. But then again I'm sure Oje let her know what was going on and I'm not her. Oje came to join them and took Tim in his arms while Mandy came over to the couch next to me.  
  
"Hey little man," my brother began. "Do you remember me telling you last night that your grandfather managed to come back from heaven?" my brother's son gave a tentative nod. I was suddenly struck by when comparing in my head the pictures of my Dad when he was younger how much my nephew looked a lot like my father.   
  
"Well, this is your grandfather. Dad, this is your grandson, Timothy Stuart Hart. Tim, this is your Grandfather Owen," Oje introduced them. I never knew that Oje used our Grandfather's first name as his son's middle name. Oje moved to Tim closer to our Dad as if to have Dad take Tim into arms, which Dad did.  
  
"Hey little guy, how are you?" my Dad asked. There were a couple of moments of tenseness, wondering if Tim would accept this strange man who everybody had presumed he'd never meet or not.  
  
Suddenly Tim had this great big smile and said "pa - pa" and wrapped his arms around Dad's neck. There were tears in Dad's eyes. I wondered if he ever thought he would actually get to do this while hiding from Vince.  
  
The rest of the day was pretty much of a Christmas morning atmosphere at my parents' house. We caught Dad up on things that had happened while he was 'dead,' the humorous and not so humorous. We looked at some of me and Oje's high school photos (I will never fathom why I ever dyed my hair purple Junior year), and Oje's wedding pictures. Dad also told us the humorous reaction Danny's dad had when Chris Benoit got to the cabin and saw Dad after thinking Dad was dead for five years. Have to admit I laughed at that one thinking of what happened that first night at the cabin. It felt like cloud nine the whole day.  
  
Two things marred it: One was the fact that in a little over a week's time Vince's trial would begin and we'd all have to be in Atlanta for it. I really hoped that what I said to Mom last night before Dad showed up would come true. That Vince WOULDN'T retaliate for being taken down. I'm getting more nervous as the time's coming closer and closer to Vince's trial.  
  
The other was the fact that I was feeling so guilty. I was sitting in my parents' house having the best time I'd ever had in my life while Danny was probably having the worst time of his life in Atlanta. I wish there were something I could've done to make things go better for him.  
  
Pushing those two dark clouds aside and pushed my mind back to the present, determined to enjoy my family being whole again.  
  
Okay on to 80 :-D 


	80. Texas Chokeout

Okay, we're in Danny's POV and well now, we're in the homestretch as far as reunions go.  
  
Well, that went over well.  
  
Remind me to never have anymore family reunions.  
  
At least Tatem and David took things well. Okay, they took things well AFTER they got finished with chewing me and Uncle Ric out. And Eddy after his involvement was revealed. They took out pictures of their kids to show Dad and promised to bring them over. I wonder how Dad feels about being a Grandfather?  
  
I talked to Athena before I left Atlanta. Her family reunion seemed to be everything I'd hoped mine would've have been. As happy as I was for her I couldn't help but feel envious that she was getting this great reunion and all I got was my Mom hitting my Dad. I haven't had to guts to ask Uncle Eddy yet if he told Mom about his involvement yet.  
  
Vince and Co's trial starts in a couple of days. I went with Uncle Eddy and Eric to go to Texas to pick up Steve Austin for the trial, another person I believed dead until a month ago when I went with Uncle Eddy and Eric to San Antonio the night Vince got taken down in, ironically enough, Atlanta. I noticed that Eric had a black eye when me and Uncle Eddy met him at the airport. Eddy asked how he got it and Eric just ground out "Raven," which I didn't understand but Uncle Eddy seemed to understand. I didn't ask. I figured the entire story would come out later. Eric seemed to like to talk a lot. The most ironic thing about this trip was that a few months ago Eric and Uncle Eddy didn't know if Austin would be awake much less testify at Vince's trial.  
  
Uncle Eddy was driving while Eric stared straight ahead. I was in the back-seat staring aimlessly out the window.  
  
"Seems strange doesn't it? That in two days, our part in this will truly be over?" Uncle Eddy asked Eric.  
  
"Can't wait to see the look in Vince's eyes when I testify against him. Bastard thought he had me in his back pocket for 17 years. That's going to be fun."  
  
Uncle Eddy chuckled. I realized I rarely heard him laugh. "Yeah, well, wait till he sees WHO you helped cheat death. That ought to give Vince a stroke."  
  
"Irony is a beautiful thing isn't it?" Eric asked rhetorically. Okay I respect the fact that he helped save my father, but the guys an egotistical son of a bitch. I'm about to say that to him when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.  
  
"Hey guys, how long has that truck been behind us?" I asked noticing for the first time the blue truck that was keeping pace with us as we headed to Austin's house.  
  
Uncle Eddy looked in the rearview mirror and Eric turned around to look at the back window.  
  
"SHIT!" both exclaimed at the same time.  
  
"You know who that is don't you?" Eddy asked Eric.  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know who the hell it is. Probably saw us leaving together and wanted to know why my ass isn't in jail along with Vince," Eddy said throwing his head back against the seat. "Dammit! Lose him Eddy, or we're going to have some questions that neither of us wants to answer at the moment."  
  
"I'll try but if he's already figured out where we're heading, that might be a moot point," Uncle Eddy replied already turning the wheel in an attempt to lose the truck.  
  
Uncle Eddy meandered a few blocks before going back on the road we'd been on, finally losing the truck. Or so we thought.  
  
When we finally got to the Austin home, we got out of the car, intent on heading straight to the house. That's when the blue truck came up behind us, and a stout, gray - haired man got out and barreled towards Eric. Next thing any of us knew, the man had his hands wrapped around Eric Bischoff's throat.  
  
"You son of a bitch!" the man ground out in a Southern accent.  
  
"JR, I can explain!" Eric wheezed out, trying to get a couple of breaths in.  
  
Even though I didn't know a whole lot about wrestling growing up, I did recognize Jim Ross, who served under Vince as Vice - President of Talent relations and had been known for many years as the 'Voice of the WWF' announcing WWF events such as RAW and PPVs. Ross retired along with Mark Calloway shortly after Survivor Series 2003, following the 'death' of Stone Cold Steve Austin in what I now knew was one of Vince's assassination orders. I wonder what JR would do if he knew how much Jeff Jarrett got paid for that little piece of work.  
  
"JR!" a woman's voice cried out. I looked to see a blond woman with gray at her temples coming towards us. She also had a southern accent and looked a bit familiar to me. It took a few moments for me and Eddy to get the former commentator's hands off Eric's throat. The aged man looked at all of us (Okay Eddy and Eric since I'm pretty sure he didn't know who the hell I was, since the only image of me in the papers was of me in a dress) with rage in his eyes.  
  
"You son of a bitch! How come you're not in jail right now! It was your idea to have that stupid NWA - TNA 'invasion' that got Steve killed. How come your not in jail with Stephanie and Vince?" JR raged.  
  
"I cough I didn't know about what was going to happen until after the deal was done. If I'd known that Vince - " Eric coughed out, trying to get his voice back after being choked by the former announcer.  
  
"Vince killed Steve?" the older blonde woman said in a voice that was so small it was heartbreaking. I finally recognized the blonde as one of my mom's closest friends and somebody I considered an aunt over the years, Debra. She was also Steve Austin's wife. They'd reconciled before the deadly scaffold match.   
  
'This day keeps getting better and better,' I thought bitterly, Please don't let Debra have talked to Mom in the last few days.'  
  
"You low down snake!" Ross yelled. "You knew for how long? 15 years?? DAMN YOU! Why the hell didn't you turn Vince in before that match took place? Steve would still be alive if that match never took place!"  
  
If only he knew.  
  
The fact of the matter is, it took this long just to get enough evidence to prove that it was Vince that was actually behind the scaffold match. See by allowing Eric to set up the cross promotional deal, Vince had a way of framing Eric for it, by saying that Eric paid Jarrett off to push Austin off the scaffold. There had to be concrete proof that Vince planned it. That was another of Vince Russo's favors to us. The man doesn't want to go to prison, so he's rolling every which way he can. There are already at least 12 mysterious accidents over the last at least 20 years to wrestlers that Russo's offered up and at least half could be definitively traced back to Vince and/or Hunter/Stephanie. The rest are still being investigated.  
  
"Look, I know what you think about me JR, but one thing I'm not is a murderer!" Eric yelled. Given what I've been told about the two men, it wasn't hard for me to believe that Ross absolutely hated Eric. This was going to make things even more explosive. Apparently Uncle Eddy thought the same thing and we both moved closer to keep the former commentator from choking the crap out of Eric again.  
  
"I've done and said a lot of things in my life, some ruthless things, but never Vince's level! Never murder! Eric shot out. "My hands are clean of blood on that score."  
  
"Oh really? What about setting yourself up as Chief mourner at Owen Hart's funeral? Huh? Debra's deceptively soft voice carrying a lot of venom. "and for that matter, what the hell are the three of you doing at Steve's house? The last time it was lived in was - " she cut herself off, unable to continue without crying.  
  
Damn! I should've realized that's what Eddy meant by moot point if he figured out where we were heading. Jim Ross probably traveled down the road we were on hundreds of times before Survivor Series 2003. I prayed Eric wouldn't let his anger get the best of him. Bad enough we were going to have to explain why we were here. But I didn't think Eric blurting it out was the best way for them to find out.  
  
Debra Austin looked at me curiously, then recognition sparked in her eyes. Shit, that was the last thing I needed.  
  
"Danny?" she asked, "what are you doing here?"   
  
I never got the chance to answer her, because right then the person we came here for decided to reveal what we were doing here himself.  
  
"What the fuck is going on out there?!" a gruff voice asked, cutting off another Ross tirade. Both Jim Ross and Debra Austin froze at the sound of the voice as they recognized it. Everybody turned to the front porch to where the sound came from even though me, Eric and Eddy already knew what Debra and Ross would find.  
  
Steve Austin stood on the front porch, a hand leaning on the railing. I didn't see Chase yet but I was sure that he was inside the house somewhere. I didn't see any vehicles belonging to Shane Douglas or Mark Calloway yet, so I assumed they weren't here yet. Oh yeah those two showing up was going to make the situation better. Considering the man in front of us was in a deep coma a month ago, I was amazed that Steve Austin was up and around so fast.  
  
I turned back to JR and Debra. Shock and recognition was registering on both of their faces and I swear I thought Jim Ross was going to have a stroke right then and there. Debra looked very pale and I moved closer to her incase she fainted.  
  
"JR, Debra?" Austin asked finally recognizing the pair that followed us.  
  
JR was in shock and couldn't move.  
  
Debra Austin whispered "Steve?" and fainted at the sight of her presumed dead husband.  
  
Why do people always faint around me?  
  
Okay three reunions down. More from Texas in 81. 


	81. Jules gave it a name and i forgot it

Danny's POV:  
  
We managed to get Debra Austin into the house or rather Steve Austin got his wife into the house taking her from my arms shortly after she fainted. Don't think the guy trusted anybody but him to take care of his wife after she fainted. Steve carried her to his bedroom, Chase followed behind. I guess Chase will probably give Debra all the medical details of what happened fifteen years ago. Plus, I don't think he wanted to be around an angry Jim Ross who got over some of his shock at seeing his 'dead' friend walking and talking.  
  
Which left me, Eddy and Eric to deal with Jim Ross in the Austin living room.   
  
Joy.  
  
If looks could kill the three of us in the living room would've been vaporized by the glare in the aged ring announcer's expression. The last time I saw somebody so angry was Uncle Ric when he slammed Uncle Eddy right into the walls of my apartment a few months ago.  
  
Has it really been only a few months since I learned my Dad was alive?  
  
Anyways, Eddy told Ross upfront that about Austin's coma. Not real specifics, I assumed he was leaving that for Chase later, but enough to let Ross know that playing dead hadn't been Austin's idea. Oh I wonder how the revelations about my Dad and Owen Hart are going to shape out for the man. The man was glaring at Bischoff. I knew enough from my Dad and others over the last few months to know that Jim Ross and Eric Bischoff have a bad history together.   
  
"What the hell is your involvement in this?" Ross asked Eric shooting daggers at the former WCW President.  
  
Eric was uncomfortable with this. He was obviously wondering how to explain his involvement without giving away Dad or Owen yet. If Ross didn't have a stroke before the upcoming revelations about my Dad and Owen were almost sure to do it.  
  
"Remember the tape of Russo getting paid for Owen's murder that played in Atlanta when Vince was taken down last month?" Eric asked the former WWF announcer.   
  
"Yeah, what the hell about it?" Ross asked obviously still angry.  
  
"That was Russo's," Bischoff started to explain. I found it a year after it happened in Russo's office. It wasn't labeled. You worked with the man JR. The guy tried to push you out of WWF for pete's sake with that stupid Crazy commentator storyline, you know how anal Russo is about labeling his stuff."  
  
"Anyways I put the tape in, lost my lunch and turned it over to the FBI. That's when I ran into Eddy here," Bischoff finished pointing at Eddy. "I ran into Danny over there when he went to question Vince a few months ago about his Dad's death."  
  
Ross turned to look at me.   
  
"Don't look at me," I said, "I only found out about Austin AFTER Vince got arrested last month."  
  
Then Ross turned to Eddy.   
  
Uncle Eddy's cell phone began to ring just then. Fortunately he was far enough away to where the retired ring commentator couldn't reach up and grab it. He made a quick excuse and headed into the kitchen. Ross turned his glare back to Eric.  
  
"I want to know every fucking detail you know about what Vince has done and I want to know it now!" the commentator said. Oh this was going to be fun.  
  
"We'll explain when Eddy gets done with his call," Eric said tersely. You could feel the tension between the two men. Almost as much amnomosity as between Eric and Uncle Ric. "He knows the whole story."  
  
That was an understatement.  
  
I was wondering whether to jump back into the conversation, if only for the sake of keeping the two men from killing each other when the door to the Austin home opened.   
  
"Hey, anybody home?" a loud voice bellowed from the entrance to the house. I had to bite back a groan and I know Eric was too. Eddy was still talking on the phone I guess otherwise he'd have come back and helped try to defuse the upcoming confrontation.  
  
Mark Calloway and Shane Douglas had walked through the door.  
  
THIS was going to be interesting. 


	82. Trial problems

Athena's POV and written by Dana  
  
I entered the hotel room that Chris and Eddy share. I'm not too sure where Eddy, Danny, and Eric went because they didn't say anything. Eric didn't' even leave the plane when we landed at an airfield in Atlanta. Eddy just handed me the keys to a car.   
  
Mom, Oje, and Aunt Julie came to Atlanta with us. I was glad mom and Oje came but I wasn't surprised. Mom didn't want dad out of her sight. I was also glad my parents were so in love. I know that sounds weird but I do. I love this.  
  
I looked around the room and noticed no one was in the room. I wonder where everyone was. It's not like 'dead' people can wander around the hotel. Then again there are several connecting rooms. The door opened and Erichson came in. He looked pissed.  
  
"Where is everyone?" He asked. I shrugged. He opened the connecting door. My curiosity was sparked so I followed him. We did find the others in a different room. "The DA just called me and we have a problem. The trial has been moved up a day. Jury selection starts tomorrow. I have tried to change it but it's a no go."  
  
"Do you know when Eric, Danny, and Eddy are supposed to be back?" Chris asked.  
  
"I think Eddy said later tonight. Chase is getting things ready to go." Erichson said. The name Chase sounded familiar. I again wondered what they were talking about. They are always so secretive about things. I wish for once they'd give a straight answer, but dad and Chris seemed to know what Erichson is talking about.  
  
"You want me to call Eddy and tell him?" Dad asked. "If they know they might hurry back faster."  
  
"Good idea." Erichson handed him a cell phone. Dad walked away probably for a private conversation. Mom looked like she was about to follow him but Uncle Bret stopped her.  
  
Dad was gone for a while. When he came back in, I wasn't sure what the look on his face meant. "It doesn't look like they'll be back tonight. They ran into a problem."  
  
Megan, who hadn't said much, looked up quickly. "Are they okay?"  
  
"They are fine. They just have something to take care of." He gave Chris, Shane, Erichson, and Tammy, a look that probably said he'd explain later.  
  
"Maybe if we are lucky the jury selection will take more then a day or the judge will let us postpone it." Tammy suggested.  
  
This is getting weird. What was holding them up? I wondered.  
  
The next day, all of us went to the courthouse. Well everyone except dad, Chris, and a few agents. Eddy, Eric, and Danny still weren't back yet. I wonder where they are. No one is saying anything.  
  
Chavo called Eddy and found out they are still dealing with the problem and they'd be back as soon as they could. But from what Chavo told us, Eddy hadn't said anything else.  
  
Vince and Stephanie McMahon are sitting next to their lawyer not looking worried at all. That's probably because they think we have no evidence to nail them of their crimes. Wait till they see dad and Chris. That will be something not to miss.  
  
I was sitting behind the District Attorney's table between my mother, and Uncle Bret. Oje was on the other side of me. The lawyer was having a quick conversation with Chavo who just shook his head a lot. They weren't close enough for me to hear them. But I'd guess they were talking about Eddy, Danny, and Eric not being back yet.   
  
Matt rolled up to us with Amy and Megan.   
  
"Any word?" Megan asked. We shook our head. "Damn it's almost 9!"  
  
"Excuse me." An officer came up to us. "You'll have to leave during the jury selection."  
  
We got up and left the courtroom. I watched the jury walk into the room. I listened carefully at the door. They were now listing the people so far scheduled to testify. I wish I had been in the room when I heard the DA say Chris Benoit and Owen Hart.  
  
I heard Eric's name called and then Eddy's, and then two names I'd never heard before. Who were Mark Calloway and Shane Douglas?  
  
I turned to look at Uncle Bret. "Who's Mark Calloway and Shane Douglas?"  
  
"What?" Ric asked turning to face Tammy.   
  
"They'll be here soon too." She explained. "We'll explain that later."   
  
I shrugged. That didn't answer my question and Ric, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn looked really angry.   
  
There were many names listed. Including mine, Shane's, Danny's, Cameron, and a lot of people I'd never heard of. And I missed a few of the names. But I hadn't had the time to ask anyone as I heard the DA ask, "Your honor some of our key witnesses are in Texas so we are asking that the trial not start till tomorrow. That is if the jury selection is finished today." District Attorney said.   
  
"Mr. Roberts do you have a problem with that?" He asked.  
  
"No your honor."   
  
They were in Texas? What was so important in Texas? 


	83. Fireworks Galore

This is from Danny's POV and takes place RIGHT where 81 leaves off VBEG  
  
Well, of all the tense situations I've been in/created over the last few months this one might top them all right now. Me and Eric Bischoff were trying to starve off giving explanations to Jim Ross when Mark Calloway and Shane Douglas walked into the Austin house and stopped pretty much dead at the sight of the former ring announcer.  
  
If looks could kill, Jim Ross could've killed everybody in that living room.  
  
Talk about your impending explosions. I toyed with interrupting Uncle Eddy's phone call to tell him about this when Eddy chose that moment to walk into the room. His expression said it all. He knew what was coming.  
  
"Oh Crap," Uncle Eddy muttered.  
  
Yeah that pretty much summed it up.  
  
JR stood straight up on the couch. For an old, portly guy, he moves pretty fast. I sat in a chair, figuring I could sit most of this out since for once; I was probably the one in the least amount of trouble.  
  
"JR - " Mark began.  
  
"You Son of a Bitch," Ross cut him off. "You knew all these years and you didn't tell anybody!? And you?" he spat in Shane Douglas' face. "What's your involvement in all of this?"  
  
"Tied to Eddy's," was Shane's comment while Mark muttered, "not all these years."  
  
Just when things couldn't get worse, Chase and Austin walked back into the living room with an only marginally better Debra between them. Her eyes widened when she saw Shane and Mark. They narrowed landing on Mark.  
  
Uh - oh.  
  
Debra barreled over to the man that had been in his time, known as the Undertaker and reached out and smacked the man right across the face. My aunt is quite tall, even though the man she slapped still tower's over her by at least a foot. She's even taller than Mom. She pummeled him in the chest a few times before Steve Austin grabbed his wife.  
  
"How dare you!" she shouted, her husband barely restraining her from coming after Mark again with her fists. "How dare you keep this from me!"  
  
"Uh, how's about we all sit down and explain everything from the beginning," Shane said trying to defuse the situation before it got out of hand.  
  
"Good idea," Eric muttered.  
  
I sat back and took in everything. I also figured it'd be best to keep my mouth shut for once and let everybody else say everything. Thank goodness for once I'm not the one in trouble.  
  
Eddy started from the beginning, how he overheard Nash and Hall about planning Owen's death, contacted Douglas and got in touch with the FBI, who arranged to fake Owen's death. Debra and Jim Ross had horror in their eyes as Eddy and the others started explaining. Eric retold Debra what he told JR before Mark and Shane came through unannounced. The two newcomers to the tale seemed even more horrified as Eddy, Shane and Eric told them more about what exactly they suspected Vince and his daughter and son - in - law of plotting and/or planning. JR seemed particularly horrified when Eric told everybody about what Vince had planned for his own son. I'd never even heard about the details before, so what Eric had to say was more than interesting to say the least.  
  
"He was going to have Shane and Marissa run off the road and made to look like Shane had a drunk - driving accident?" JR questioned, disgust evident in his voice.  
  
Eric nodded. "Fortunately I sent him a video of Vince talking to the hit man before they had a chance to really plan anything definitive. So all these years Vince just thought that Shane cracked under pressure and just up and left. Maybe not the best thing, but it kept Vince from hunting Shane down and killing him. We're still not sure just how it came to be that Vince wanted Shane dead. We think it might have been somebody close to Vince wanting Shane out of the way, but that's not clear. We know Russo wasn't involved in it. Probably the one deed of Vince's that Russo wasn't involved in. Hopefully we'll know more soon."  
  
Eric broke off and shared a look with Eddy. Eddy sighed as if uncertain as to how to go about saying what he had to say next. Suddenly I knew he was going to tell them about Dad. He had that same look of hesitation before telling Debra and Ross about Owen. Eddy took a deep breath.  
  
"And then there's Chris......."  
  
JR looked confused for a minute while Debra gasped. She looked at me with questioning and comprehension in her eyes, while JR turned in my direction confused. I gave her a small nod of confirmation, as Jim Ross also seemed to finally get what Debra had figured out.  
  
"Chris is alive too?" JR asked. There was still anger in his eyes, but there wasn't as much fight in his body language as there was before the explanations began.  
  
Eric nodded. "Goldberg was my mistake. Nobody should've died because I created the monster for Vince to eventually use," he said quietly. It reminded me of that day at Angelo's in Kentucky when he explained why he'd gotten involved in this.   
  
Debra looked in shock. "That explains why, what she was -"  
  
"What she was what?" JR asked. I already knew.  
  
"Mom talked to you didn't she," it wasn't a question. I knew my Mom all too well.  
  
Debra nodded, "she was crying so much, that I couldn't get her to tell me what was wrong. That was the night you were going to take her and Tatem to dinner wasn't it?"  
  
I sighed, "and instead me, Megan and Ric gave them and David a disastrous reunion with Dad in a hotel room," everybody but Eddy had surprise looks on their faces. Not surprising since Eddy had walked in on the aftermath of that. "She slapped Dad right across the face."  
  
Eric snorted, "Sounds like Nancy."   
  
Everybody glared at Eric. I decided now was the prefect opportunity for more information.   
  
"Speaking of bodily injury," I asked, "where did you get that shiner?"  
  
Eric glowered at me. "Raven," he muttered as if there was all there was too it. Mark, Shane, and Steve all snickered.  
  
Eric turned to Eddy obviously hoping to take some attention off of him.  
  
"Who was on the phone before all hell broke loose?" he asked.  
  
Uncle Eddy sighed. Most of us knew by know that meant bad news. "It was Chavito. Trial's been moved up by a day."  
  
Eric cursed.  
  
Mark was louder. "Shit!"  
  
"Chavo said that hopefully jury selection would take awhile. If not the lawyers would ask for a brief delay so we can get there without getting caught," Uncle Eddy explained. Then he frowned.  
  
"They apparently released the names of the Prosecution witnesses to the judge. We decided to keep Chris, Owen's and Steve's names out of it for now for obvious reasons, but there apparently Steve Borden's name's on it, and I don't know why." He looked at Eric.  
  
Eric shrugged. "Don't look at me, I'm as surprised by that as you are. I know Terry told somebody some things about Vince before the Alzheimer's kicked in, but I doubt it was Stinger. Guess we'll find out when he testifies."  
  
Everybody else but me (who was he?) was as confused as Eddy and Eddy was. Nobody but me noticed that Steve Austin's body seemed to tense and his eyes darkened for a bit. I wonder why.  
  
"Guess we better finish this up and get the show on the road then," Shane said and that's what we did. We finished up our explanations and Chase filled them in on the stuff pertaining to Steve Austin's coma, which I tuned out as it really didn't pertain to me and I sucked in biology in school. Then Eric and Eddy and the rest of us went over and revised travel arrangements since now we had two extra people coming along.   
  
I was dreading heading back to Atlanta in more ways than one. Not just because of the trial and media circus surrounding it. Most of my dread was about coming back and potentially facing my mother again. She may not hate me but I'm pretty sure it'll be a long while before she forgives me for the other night and forgives everybody involved for keeping Dad a secret for her.  
  
For the first time in my life I didn't want to go home. 


	84. One More Secret

Author's note: Just to let you know this fic is taking a vacation from June 24-July 5. Unless Jules feels really inspired and writes something. Also thank you so much to Rachel who told us about jury selection and large trials.  
  
When we got back to the hotel room after the trial we discovered Danny, Eddy, and Eric still weren't back yet. No one seemed concerned so I tried not to be. At least the bright side was it didn't look like the trial was going to start any time soon. The DA had told us jury selection for a trial for this magnitude wasn't rushed. He mentioned the OJ Simpson trial but that was before I was born.  
  
Dad and Chris seemed to be waiting for us when we got back. They all seemed to be worried about something. "There's something or rather someone you don't know about and it's why Eddy, Eric, and Danny are in Texas." Dad said. "You all might want to sit. It's a long story."  
  
Mom, Oje and I sat on the bed dad sat on. Uncle Bret, Ric, Shane and Chavo sat on the floor, chairs or the other bed.  
  
Why didn't it surprise me that there was something or someone else they hadn't told us about? They always seemed to be hiding someone.  
  
"Who's left?" Ric asked. "Steve Austin?"  
  
Dad, Shane, Chris, and Erichson all exchanged looks. Dad nodded. "Yeah it's Austin."  
  
"He's alive?" Ric asked. Dad and Chris nodded. "Why are we just hearing about it now?" He demanded.  
  
"We didn't really think it was something you needed to know." Erichson said. "He's been in a coma for fifteen years."  
  
There was quite a bit of yelling after that so I tried to say above them, "Wait a second. Who's Steve Austin?" I had to ask that because everyone but Oje seemed to know who this Steve Austin is. And they all seemed so angry. As if the yelling wasn't obvious enough.   
  
"He's a man who wrestled in WCW, Texas, ECW and the WWF." Dad said. "He did a lot for the WWF. Until the early part of this century he and Vince had no problems. Then he walked out in 2002. He came back but walked out again. No one is quite sure why he left but we have our ideas."  
  
Chris spoke up then. "I was in the WWF and I could see the strain between the two. Vince probably couldn't forgive Steve for walking out twice. I'm not sure why he came back or what he did while he was gone. Things seemed to get only worse at Survivor Series 2003. They had made a match between Steve, who was the WWF champion and Jeff Jarrett who was the NWA-TNA champion. I think everyone in the locker rooms, WWF and NWA-TNA, thought it was strange. Even more so since it was a scaffold match. No one in their right mind was happy to wrestle in those types of matches. But Jeff didn't seem to mind too much. I had a match with Sting the match before that and was icing my elbow during that match. It had been my first match back since I had re-broken my elbow. I had no idea what was going to happen during the scaffold match."  
  
Erichson spoke again. "Eric told the FBI the night before Survivor Series that the scaffold was going to be rigged so that Steve fell to the concrete. I had been informed that wrestlers, when they come off of the scaffold, always fall into the ring because the cement was far too dangerous. There was no time to interfere to keep Steve from falling so we had to hope for the best. Chase had gone to the ring hoping that Steve hadn't died, which luckily he hadn't. It was a stressful twenty-four hours waiting for updates. I don't think either Owen or I slept that night. But we did get Steve back to his home."  
  
"Wait a second." Chavo spoke up then. "Steve's been at his home all this time? How did you keep anyone from finding him? Especially Debra."  
  
"We were lucky that she never came back to the house. I'm not quite sure what we would have done to keep her from entering it. Luckily that never became an issue. Not for a few years anyway. Then someone did stumble on it."   
  
Chris nodded. "RAW was really tense the next night in Toledo Ohio. When I walked into the building, the first thing I heard was that Mark Calloway and Jim Ross had both asked for their resignations." He turned to face me. "Mark wrestled as the Undertaker and Jim Ross had done commentary and was the Vice President of Talent Relations. I think Johnny Ace took that over. Vince didn't stop them from what I heard."  
  
"Dad didn't care." Shane answered. "He told me that night that we should just let them leave. He said Mark was getting too old and the fans were tired of Jim Ross. As strange as it sounded it kind of sounded logical but that was my dad for you."  
  
'Like I said as far as we knew no one had a clue for years that Steve Austin was lying in a coma in his own home. Then someone did. You guys should know about Mark Calloway and Shane Douglas' involvement in this."  
  
"Wait Shane's involved in this?" Ric demanded. "He hates Eddy."  
  
"It was all a smokescreen." Chris explained. Ric looked like he was going to comment on it but Chris held a hand up. "I didn't know about that until I got here. According to them, Shane had never signed his release. When Eddy found out what had been planned for Owen he had called Shane for help. He's been helping Chase with watching to make sure no one came into the house."  
  
Michael shook his head again. "Yeah that was as fool proof as the cabin in Kentucky. Just like when Chavo, D-Lo, Danny and Athena showed up at the cabin Mark showed up at Austin's house. Course unlike you four," he said turning to look at Chavo and me, "He had no idea that any of them were alive."  
  
Dad chuckled looking at Uncle Bret, mom and Oje. "I had called there and he answered. Mark told me later that he fainted twice. Once seeing that Steve was alive and the second time was hearing my voice." He looked at Chris. "Course Chris fainted when he heard Steve's voice."  
  
"I didn't expect a man that had spent fifteen years in a coma to answer the phone." Chris said but he was laughing.  
  
"A lot of fainting happens around here." I said looking at everyone.  
  
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us this." Uncle Bret said. "We found out about Owen and Chris why not tell us about Steve."  
  
"Like I said Bret, it was just something you guys didn't need to know. From what we've been told, Danny had overheard Eddy on the phone with Mark when Mark called to tell them about Steve starting to wake up. They went down to get him."  
  
"Eddy called from the airfield." Chris said. "Debra Austin and Jim Ross are coming too. They had seen Eddy and Eric and followed them." Chris wiped his face. "I'm glad this trial is about to start. Too many people are finding out."  
  
I felt sort of out of place during all of this. I didn't know who they were talking about and I wasn't as angry as the others. I also could use some from fresh air so I said, "I saw a Starbucks a few blocks from here. I think I'm going to go. Anyone want anything?"  
  
Pretty soon I was overwhelmed by orders. I wrote as fast as I could wondering how I was going to carry all of this coffee.  
  
"I'll go wish you." Oje volunteered. So we set out to get coffee. It was kind of nice to get out of the war zone for a few minutes. 


	85. Unwelcome Surprise

Notes: This is in two different POV's. It will be marked as so. We don't do nearly enough of these split POV chapters.   
  
Danny's POV  
  
I was nervous as we walked through the lobby of the Days Inn Downtown. I was nervous about the fact that Steve Austin was walking next to us with a cane. He was well disguised but who knows if that will hold up. Dad's didn't. But then again, who knows?  
  
We all walked to the elevator. I couldn't help but look around. No one, much to my relief, was staring at us or even looking our way. We all probably just looked like normal guests. We all crowded into an elevator and headed up to the floor where everyone was. Just as the doors were about to open, I hit the number for my floor. I had forgotten something in my room.  
  
Uncle Eddy turned and looked at me. "I'll be right down. I need to get something from my room."   
  
I watched as everyone got out of the elevator. I was sort of glad no one else had been in the elevator with us. That might have sounded crazy but they might have been wondering about us.   
  
I slid my key into the lock and unlocked the door. What I was getting out of my room might be important later. I had not stepped in far when something hit me in the back of the head. I fell to the floor. What the hell? I wondered as I tried to stand up. But whoever had hit me was on me faster then I could react. I looked at the person and a shiver of fear went through me.  
  
If Eddy hadn't gone over the Kliq Theory, and later showed me pictures of them, I would have no clue who these two men were. Sean Waltman aka X-Pac and Peter Polaco aka Justin Credible. They kicked me and punched me. I tried to defend myself but it was to no avail. There were two of them but it seemed like more. I turned my head slightly and could see that there was someone else in the room. I couldn't identify them the room was dark. I felt blood flowing down my face and my ribs hurt badly along with my head. And my nose hurt too.  
  
The person who I couldn't identify ordered them to stop. It sounded like a female voice but I was having a hard time focusing so it might not have been. Polaco picked me up and carried me up the stairs. How'd they know where to take me? How did they get in my room anyway? My pounding head didn't allow me to think about it.   
  
The door opened and I was tossed to the ground. The door slammed as they got away. I lay there looking up at the ceiling wondering what floor I was on. Next thing I know Athena's right in front of me. I was barely conscious when I said, "Tell Eddy his Kliq theory's right."   
  
I passed out.  
  
Athena's POV  
  
Oje was helping me carry coffee that we had bought at a coffee shop down the street. Oje and I were back on speaking terms but just barely. He's still mad about me not telling him about dad as soon as we found out.   
  
As we neared the door we heard a very loud voice, "Where the hell is he Eddy?"  
  
"I don't know Chris! He said he had to get something from his hotel room and I haven't seen him since."   
  
"Eddy! With the trial tomorrow who knows what could have happened! I wouldn't put it past Vince."  
  
I wonder whom they are talking about. Chris sounds so mad. Could it be Danny? He, Eddy, and Eric hadn't been there when we went to go get coffee.  
  
Oje looked at me. Both of us were hesitant to knock on the door I could see. I heard a thump and a door slam. I turned around to see Danny lying in front of the door leading to the stairwell.  
  
"Oje get the others!" I said running to Danny. He was just lying there. He had a lot of bruises and lacerations on his face. He had a hand covering his ribs. He looked up at me.  
  
"Tell Eddy his Kliq theory's right." He said before blacking out.  
  
I didn't know whether I should wait for the others to get there or if I should pick up Danny myself. But before I could decide everyone came out of the room that Oje and I had been standing in front of. Chris picked Danny up and carried him back to the room. I could hear him muttering curses under his breath. Shane, Eddy, Chavo, and a guy I didn't know ran back down the stairs. I followed them inside. 


	86. Calm Before the Storm

Notes: This of course takes place right after 85. It's from Athena's POV and written by Dana. I'm glad we could squeeze this in before I went on vacation.  
  
I followed them inside. Chris had placed Danny on one of the beds in the room. Danny was a mess. He had blood flowing from his nose and from other places and he was out cold. A guy who looked familiar to me was checking him over. There were actually several people in the room that I didn't know.  
  
"He should probably have his ribs x-rayed." The man said after he was finished. "And the nose looks broken." I couldn't get over how familiar he looked. I had seen him somewhere I was almost certain of it.  
  
Chris let out a sigh. "I'm going to kill them. You know it had to be Vince's group. How'd they get into his room?"   
  
"I know. I was worried about this." Eddy said coming back into the room along with Chavo. "Shane and Mark went to see if they could follow them." He looked down at Danny. Concern was definitely across his face. "I'll take him to the hospital as soon as he wakes up. Chase you think he will be able to walk down the stairs or take the elevator?"  
  
"He should be. Maybe someone should help him though."  
  
"I'll go." Chavo volunteered.  
  
I looked at Chase for a moment. Wait he said Chase. Now it dawned on me. Now I knew exactly who this man was. This man helped fake the deaths of my dad and Chris.  
  
I glared at him. "You're the medic."  
  
He looked at me. He had fear in his eyes. Eddy got between us. "Hey it's okay. Chase doesn't need to be decked again."  
  
Decked again? Who was lucky enough to deck him before that? I wonder if it was Danny. I saw mom stand up and marched over to him.  
  
"You were the one who faked Owen's death?" Chase could only nod. "I don't know whether to thank you or punch you." That wasn't the reaction I expected from mom.  
  
Chase wisely backed up. "Martha Hart I assume?"  
  
There was a groan before anyone could reply. We all turned to see Danny trying to sit up. Chris was at his side.  
  
While they were trying to get Danny to lie back down, I decided now would be a good time to ask Eddy about what Danny said. "Eddy what's this Kliq Theory? Danny said you were right about it."  
  
Eddy cringed. Everyone in the room turned his way. "I was looking over the list a month ago and I noticed something. Russo said he was pretty sure that Hall, Waltman, and Nash had been involved in some of the things that went on. But he also said that he was almost positive that Vince and group had nothing to do with Louie Spicolli and Rick Rude's deaths. Rude's was a little harder to believe since Rude had crossed Vince. But then when I talked with Eric about it we came to a conclusion. The Kliq, and friends of HBK, were pretty safe." I was about to ask who the Kliq was but Eddy stopped me. "The Kliq comprised of Hickenbottom, Hall, Nash, Helmsly, Waltman, Spicolli, and Polaco. Rude was a friend of Hickenbottom's and Helmsley and Spicolli was a friend of Waltman and Hall. I told Danny all about it just in case."  
  
"It was Polaco and Waltman." A quiet voice said. Danny was now sitting up with the help of Chris and Ric. "There was someone else in the room but I don't have a clue who it was."  
  
The door opened and in stepped Shane and a guy I didn't know. I presumed it was the Mark that Eddy mentioned. "We couldn't catch them but we know it's Sean, Peter, and Joanie." The guy said.  
  
Eddy shook his head. "Let's take Danny to the hospital and then figure out what the hell we are going to do." He said. With the help of Chavo they got Danny to his feet. I noticed one of the agents went with them.  
  
"I know for one thing." Chris said watching them leave. "Danny is not going to be staying on a different floor. I don't even know why he was on a different floor in the first place."  
  
"Uh who are you guys?" I asked the people whom I didn't know. They hadn't said a word.   
  
One of the men chuckled. He had no hair and was sitting on the other bed. A cane was in his hands. "This your daughter, Owen?" He asked.   
  
"Yes it is." Dad said with pride in his voice.  
  
"She does look like you. I'm Steve Austin." He said. So this was Steve Austin. I remember hearing about him earlier. This was another man they had to hide and fake the death of. "And this is my wife Debra." He said turning his head and smiling next to the blond who was sitting next to him.  
  
"Mark Calloway." The guy who I had presumed was named Mark answered.  
  
"Shane Douglas." A man with graying blond hair said he was standing near the connecting door.   
  
"Jim Ross." A man with a cowboy hat answered. He was standing leaning against the wall.  
  
Well at least I knew who they were. And now I knew who this Mark and Shane were. But now what? I wondered.  
  
Erichson spoke up then. "Why don't Mark and Shane go get Danny's stuff out of his room and bring it in here. He can stay here until we think of something else. Oh and make sure no one follows you." He handed them a room key.  
  
They nodded and left.   
  
Now what? 


	87. Another Breakin

The drive to the hospital was a quiet one. Uncle Eddy was driving and Chavo was in the passenger seat. I was in the back with the agent. I was trying hold my ribs during the long painful ride to the hospital. I was also trying to hold a towel to my nose. I wasn't having much luck doing either.  
  
Uncle Eddy was saying a lot in Spanish. I couldn't understand a word he was saying. I probably didn't want to know anyway.  
  
We pulled up to the hospital. Chavo opened the door for me. I didn't see Eddy but the agent was at my side quickly. I walked into the hospital with some assistance from them. I saw Uncle Eddy talking to the front desk. He turned and pointed at me then talked for a few more seconds to the nurse. I sat gingerly down in a chair. Eddy returned moments later with a clipboard.  
  
He filled it out quickly asking me questions. I answered them as well as I could. I was informed that the government was paying for all of this. Which is good because I don't have insurance.  
  
I was brought into x-ray and then I had to wait awhile before the doctor came in. "Well Mr. Benoit I have your x-rays back. You have two broken ribs and a broken nose. Let's get all of that wrapped. I'll prescribe you some pain killers."  
  
After about ten painful minutes I was back in the car and on the way back to the hotel. I took a pain killer in the car and fell asleep. I only woke up when I felt myself being lifted up and carried. My head was too fuzzy to protest. I dozed off.  
  
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now Douglas!" Uncle Dean yelled waking me up. I got up and groaned at the pain that it caused. After I find out what was going on I'll take a painkiller. I slowly walked into the first room. Not only were Uncle Dean and Shane there but so was Uncle Perry, Dad, and Mark. Well, I guess it was a good thing that Owen and Steve were somewhere else.  
  
"What's going on?" I asked.  
  
"Sit down," Dad said, seeing the pained expression on my face. I sat gladly into a chair.  
  
"We just found out Shane Douglas has known this whole time. I presume you already knew that?" Uncle Dean asked me. I nodded. He looked at me closely. "What happened to your nose?"  
  
Shane seemed happy that their attention was directed at me. I quickly explained what happened. Both Dean and Perry let out a string of curse words before they turned their attention back to Shane.  
  
"You've known how that long? And you were at that RAW? Why didn't you and Eddy tell us!" Perry demanded.  
  
"Look, I couldn't! We had to keep it quiet that Chris was alive," Shane defended himself.  
  
"And how the hell did you find out?" Dean said turning to Mark.  
  
Oh, this could be interesting. He found out about my Dad because they told him. He couldn't very well say he found Austin.  
  
"I stumbled onto it," Mark said.  
  
I saw the doorknob start to turn. Please let it be Shane McMahon or Eddy. Don't let it be who I think it is.  
  
I closed my eyes. I 'so' did not want to see this. Heck I could handle it being my Mother and explaining why I have a broken nose. I could not handle it if it was....  
  
"What they hell are they doing here?" I opened my eyes. Yep there was Owen and Steve both in disguise. Though anyone could recognize Steve's voice I guess. Well, maybe I could be lucky....  
  
"Steve?" Dean asked in complete shock. He turned to look at Owen. "Owen?" He finally turned to Mark, Dad, and Shane. "Are there any more wrestlers that are alive that I think are dead?"  
  
"I gotta sit down," Uncle Perry said. "Oh wait, I am."  
  
Well, at least nobody fainted this time.  
  
"Why don't we just broadcast it on TV?" Shane muttered.  
  
"I'm still figuring out how the two of you got in here," Dad said.  
  
Uncle Dean and Uncle Perry exchanged looks. "We snuck in while the maid was getting something out of the cart. No one was in the room though. Perry tried the connecting door and found it to be unlocked. We saw Danny was asleep on one of the beds and heard a shower going. Then we went back into the first room and waited. Then Shane and Mark came in."  
  
"How did you find out we were here?" Mark asked.  
  
"Nancy called me. She said that Danny had taken here to Days Inn downtown and Chris had been there. She only told us yesterday. We thought we'd come and see for ourselves.  
  
The door started to open. I wonder who it is? With my luck it'll be...  
  
"What the hell are they doing here!?"  
  
At the same time as Uncle Perry and Uncle Dean shouted, "What the hell is he doing here?!"  
  
Cliffhanger ending. I'm back from vacation and through with jet lag and happy to be back on the west coast. 


	88. Guess Who's in Town?

This is one disaster I hadn't been prepared for. Uncle Dean and Uncle Perry looked like they were going to pounce on Bischoff. Eric looked like he wanted to disappear not that I blame him. I guess no one told him that Dean and Perry knew.  
  
"You told that snake but you wouldn't tell us?" Uncle Perry asked jumping to his feet.  
  
Everyone looked uneasy. This probably wouldn't be easy to explain. It was kind of weird how everyone got involved in this. Eric looked at a tape and went to the FBI. Uncle Eddy overheard a conversation and went to the FBI and then wanted help so he contacted Shane Douglas. Mark stumbled on it a lot like Athena, Chavo, D-Lo and I had. Shane McMahon had to be saved. I never found out how Tammy had gotten involved. The rest of us found out very recently. It was weird that all of this had been happening for almost twenty years and Vince never had a clue. That's the good side of all of this.  
  
I listened while Uncle Eddy and the others tried to explain everything. I wonder where everyone is, and why Steve and Owen were out of the rooms. I would have thought they'd be staying hidden. It was still today isn't it? Stupid painkillers. My brain's kinda foggy.  
  
"Is there anyone else we should know about Eddy or is Brian Pillman going to walk through the door next." Uncle Dean sounded exasperated.  
  
Brian Pillman. That's the second time he's mentioned his name. I wonder who he is. He must be a dead wrestler. And maybe a friend of dad's? I fingered the necklace I wore. I had been smart enough no to wear it when I picked up mom and Tatem. My mother would have recognized it immediately and I would have had to answer questions I wasn't ready to answer. Dad had said the necklace had meant a lot to him so Brian must have been a friend of his.  
  
"Unfortunately no." Dad said walking over to Uncle Dean and Perry. "Brian's dead."  
  
I looked around the room. Did I just see Steve wipe away a tear? I saw Debra put an arm around him and squeeze before she got up and walked out of the room. She came back a few moments later. She was carrying a chain very delicately.  
  
"I think this belongs to you." She said quietly handing it to him. He took it and put it on. I had seen Steve wearing that chain in old wrestling photos and videos I had watched at OVW. It obviously meant something to him because he looked wistful.  
  
I turned my attention to dad, who was hugging Uncle Dean. I'm glad Uncle Dean hadn't held it against him. I know they had been best friends. I could tell they were both crying. Then dad hugged Uncle Perry.  
  
My cell phone started ringing. I looked at the caller id and didn't recognize the number. I got up slowly cradling my ribs and headed into the next room to answer it. I didn't want whoever was on the phone to hear those voices. I had no idea who they are. I closed the door and sat on one of the beds. "Hello?"  
  
"Danny? It's Cam." I wonder where he's calling from. That's not his cell phone number.  
  
"Hey Cam." I said sitting back on the bed carefully. "What's up?"  
  
"I was calling to see how you are." He's talking very quietly. I guess he didn't want people to know he was talking to me.  
  
"I'm okay." I lied. Cam's a good friend but I don't know what he'd think if he found out a couple of his dad's friends had beat me up.   
  
"I heard about what happened to you." How did he know that? I wondered. "I overheard my dad on the phone with Sean Waltman."  
  
"Your home?" Why did that surprise me? Why wouldn't his dad tell him to leave OVW? I hadn't been back to OVW in over a month so I really didn't know what was going on there except that Uncle Eddy's brother Mando was helping Chavo and D-Lo with training.  
  
"Yeah. My parents thought I should come home until the trial's over. I've heard them talking about the trial. Dad said he was worried because of the evidence. I still don't quite believe he could do that." I could hear the catch in his voice. I felt sorry for him. For me I had never heard anything really said about Shawn Michaels. And if I did it wasn't good. For him this has to be a shock.   
  
I didn't say anything right away. What could I?   
  
"I'm sorry for what he did to your dad and Athena's dad. I just can't believe it. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would kill people. My dad is a loving man. He loves mom and my sisters. He said when he was guest trainer that he said he was glad Athena was following in her father's footsteps. I just don't know..."  
  
"Cam are you off the phone yet? Mom said dad's going to be calling soon." I heard a voice yell. Probably one of Cam's sisters.  
  
"Not yet Shawna!" He yelled back. Shawna's Cam's fourteen-year-old sister.  
  
"But dad switched hotels! We need to know which one before we go to Atlanta."  
  
Atlanta? He's in Atlanta? Interesting. I guess I had thought he was in San Antonio. I mean didn't Cam say he overheard a conversation between his dad and Sean?  
  
"We have call waiting." Then he was back on the line with me. "Sorry. Sisters what can you do with them?"  
  
I grinned slightly. Before RAW in Atlanta I would have said the same thing about Megan. "Your dad's in Atlanta?" I asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Yeah. He left yesterday. He said he had to take care of something before the trial. We are all joining him. Well I have to since I was subpoenaed."   
  
Yesterday? "When did the phone conversation take place?"   
  
"A couple of days ago. Why?"  
  
Huh. "No reason."  
  
I think I heard a click. "That's the other line. I better go. Bye Danny."  
  
"Bye." I said and hung up.  
  
Just how long were they in my hotel room? I wondered. I'm confused now.  
  
The door opened and I sat up a bit more. Dad came in looking pale. "Who was on the phone?" He asked sitting down on the other bed.  
  
"Cameron Hickenbottom." I said. I wonder if I should tell him what Cam said about his dad being in Atlanta.  
  
"Oh. Look Daniel Eddy's told me Cam's a nice kid but be careful around him. But don't forget who his dad is." He sighed. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm hurting." I admitted. "Cam's nothing like his dad. He wouldn't hurt anyone."   
  
Dad got up and got my bottle of painkillers out, and poured me a glass of water. I took it and settled back.  
  
"I'm sure he wouldn't Daniel but I do want you to be careful. It was a mistake for you to be on a different floor. You need to understand that Vince will be pulling out all of the stops before the trial starts and so will his men. You will need to be extra careful."  
  
I yawned. The pain meds were kicking in so I struggled to stay awake. "Cam said his dad's in Atlanta."  
  
"He what?" Dad demanded. "No wait we knew he would be." I yawned again. "Why don't you go back to sleep. Don't worry about Michaels right now."  
  
I closed my eyes and fell asleep. 


	89. Bar Fight

After everything that has happened since we decided to stay at this hotel, I didn't think anything would surprise me. Well until I turned the corner and saw Uncle Bret choking Shawn Michaels.  
  
I went up to him and tried to pry his hands away from his throat. It's a good thing my mother and Oje weren't here right now.   
  
"What are you doing here Michaels?" He asked squeezing his throat even tighter.  
  
"Came...to...talk...to...you." Shawn wheezed between breaths.  
  
"How did you know where we were?" There was silence. Uncle Bret squeezed harder. "How did you know where we were?"  
  
"Front...desk...am...a...zing...what...a...hun...dred...doll...ars...will...get...you."  
  
Uncle Bret let go and hit him in the face. Shawn fell to the floor gasping for breath. "What do you know?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Uncle Bret picked him up and started choking him again.  
  
"Okay... I'll...talk!" Uncle Bret removed his hands. "Person was real talkative for two hundred dollars."  
  
No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get Uncle Bret's hands off of Shawn Michaels' throat. Shawn did deserve it, but it wasn't right. I wonder what Uncle Bret's going to do with him.  
  
"I'm going to ask just once more Shawn. What are you doing here?" Uncle Bret slightly loosened his grip but didn't let go. I looked at Shawn. He doesn't look like he's going to talk.  
  
"I needed to talk to you guys before the trial. There's some stuff you all need to know about." He looked at the door I was leaning against. "Maybe we can go inside."  
  
"We can go down to the lounge and talk." Uncle Bret said. He let go of Shawn. The lounge was probably a good idea. I'd walked by it enough times to know a lot of people went in there.  
  
"Sure whatever you say. Maybe Daniel Benoit can join us." The way he said that made me think he knew what happened to Danny. Not that it was surprising now that I heard Eddy's Kliq Theory.   
  
"Danny's not feeling well. Perhaps you know something about that." I could tell Uncle Bret was just barely holding onto his temper.  
  
"Nah Bret. What would I know about it? I've never met Chris' kid before." He looked awfully smug. Uncle Bret looked like he was going to punch him. I decided to step in.   
  
"I'll call Eddy. He'd probably want to hear what you have to say." Along with Erichson and a few other agents. I silently added.  
  
Uncle Bret nodded and 'led' Michaels to the elevator. I waited until they were out of sight before I went in the hotel room. Danny looked like he was when we left; sound asleep in one of the beds. The room was empty other then him. I walked into the next room quietly as I try not to wake Danny up. I found everyone else in the room along with Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko. What were they doing in here I wondered. I also noticed dad and Steve were no long in disguise. It seems a lot has happened in the last couple of hours that I was gone. Oh well it figures. I also noticed Bischoff was standing as far away from Perry and Dean as possible. It was kind of funny once I thought about it. I saw Eddy was sitting at a desk writing in a notebook.  
  
"Eddy can I talk to you for a second." I asked walking up to him. He got up probably figuring it was something I didn't want the others to know about. I waited until we were in the third room, which was empty, before I said anything. "Shawn Michaels is here."  
  
Eddy gave a solemn nod. "Danny talked to Cam on the phone and Cam told him Shawn was here. Shawn also knew about the attack on Danny before it happened. So you saw him?"  
  
"Yeah. I saw Uncle Bret choking him right outside of the room. He took him downstairs to the lounge. They should still be there." I followed Eddy to the elevator but instead o hitting the button he turned to one of the doors that was next to the elevator.  
  
"Stay out here. I'll be right back." He went in. I caught a glimpse of inside and saw that it was full of monitors. I didn't hear what was being said though.   
  
Eddy came back out with Erichson and another man. "Adams keep an eye on the monitors. Eddy and I are going to talk to Hickenbottom. We need to watch the monitors better. We can't keep having all of these break ins." Erichson sounded pissed and rightfully so. It was sort of getting out of hand.  
  
The three of us took the elevator down to the lobby. I hoped Uncle Bret hadn't killed Shawn yet. We found them at a table towards the back. The tables around it were all empty. It's a good thing considering how much they hate each other. We sat at the table.  
  
"You wanted to talk, so talk." Uncle Bret said. At least we didn't miss anything.  
  
He looked warily at Erichson probably wondering who he was. He fiddled with the napkin that was in front of him. I wondered if he was having second thoughts. "I'm going to tell the truth at the trial. I'm tired of hiding what we've done. We've done things to Owen, Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, Curt Hennig and a lot of others not to mention what almost happened to Shane McMahon." He looked down.  
  
Uncle Bret looked at him for a moment before he said anything. Shawn didn't sound like he was sorry for anything he's done. But then again, who knows?  
  
"Bret about..." Shawn suddenly trailed off. He looked scared. I turned around and saw Shane McMahon walking to our table. He pulled up a chair and sat down. "Maybe I should go." Shane's presence certainly seemed to make him nervous.  
  
"Stay Shawn. I might want to hear what you have to say." Okay there seems to be something between these two. Shawn's definitely squirming in his seat.  
  
A bar maid came over and took our order. She had a startled look on her face. She must be a wrestling fan or someone who's following the trial. But she did hurry away without saying a word.  
  
Shawn and Shane were eying each other neither of them saying a word. I looked at Uncle Bret and he was also staring at Shawn. I looked at Eddy and he was whispering something to Erichson. They weren't loud enough for any of us to hear them. I wonder what they are talking about.  
  
Shawn cleared his throat. "Um about the trial." Now he had everyone's attention. "I suppose you all know about Shane."  
  
I don't think I've heard everything concerning Shane. I mean I know that it had to do with Vince and that Vince had tried to kill him. I wonder why Shane's bringing it up.  
  
Eddy stopped talking to Erichson. "Yeah. What about it?" Well at least I'm not the only one out of the loop this time.  
  
Shawn looked over at Shane before he spoke. "I'm the one who told Vince Shane knew everything."  
  
Shane stood up. I thought he was going to punch Shawn right there and then. But maybe because we are in a bar full of people, he changed his mind because he sat down. "You told Vince that I knew? We knew it had to be someone close to Vince but we didn't know who."  
  
Shawn nodded. "Yeah. I..."  
  
"How could you do that?" Uncle Bret demanded. "You've got three children. Would you do that to them?"  
  
"Of course not. I love Cam, Shawna, and Sylvia. I'd never do anything to them."  
  
Of course, he has no problem with killing people.  
  
"Why?" Shane asked. He's pretty calm for a man who just found out who wanted him dead. "Why did you tell Vince that?"  
  
Shawn looked down again. He didn't say anything right away. Maybe he wasn't going to. "Vince would never do anything to Shane and Linda. He made sure we all knew that. No one could touch them and he made double sure they stayed clueless. That always pissed Stephanie off. She complained to me and Hunter how it wasn't fair that they weren't involved."  
  
"Are you saying you told Vince because Stephanie was mad?" Eddy asked. Confusion was definitely all over his face.  
  
"Not at all Eddy." Shawn said taking a sip of the beer that had just arrived. "I'm telling you so that you understand why it couldn't have been done by one of us."  
  
"But you haven't answered why you did it." Shane pointed out.  
  
"I know Shane but I'm just trying to explain things." He looked Shane directly in the eye this time. "I've never liked you and you know that." Well that did explain the tension between the two. Shane just nodded. That's definitely something to ask about later.  
  
"Your father gave WCW to you to run. I'm not sure what he was expecting to happen by doing so. Maybe he was hoping you'd fair so RAW's ratings would go up. He gave you a terrible time slot and yet your ratings were still better. Vince started to lose it when you bought WCW completely from him with Ted Turner's help. Nitro was suddenly back and going head to head with RAW. I knew if something wasn't done, WWF would have been driven out of business."  
  
He looked at me before he continued. I wonder why. "The only way I know of handling a problem is to eliminate it. I went to Vince and told him I had overheard you on the phone with Marissa and were telling her about what your father had done. Vince would do anything to make sure what he's done never got out. He didn't use any of us. I kinda wish he had. But you disappeared before anything could be done. We all just presumed you had cracked under the pressure so we didn't think anything of it until you showed up in his office."  
  
Oh boy. Shane was out of his seat so fast his chair fell over. He had Shawn by the collar with his fist cocked back. Eddy had to get between the two to keep Shane from doing anything. "Not here." Was all he said. Shane let go and sat down. Boy if looks could kill Shawn would be dead and buried by now.  
  
"I hate you so much Shane." Shawn said. There was fire in his eyes. This could turn real ugly. "You were always the spoiled rich kid. You could like do no wrong. I don't think anyone in the back didn't like you. Vince gave you WCW and you actually made something of it much to everyone's surprise. We were all ready to sit back and watch you fail. But Vince was actually proud of you. I always thought Vince treated me like a son but you were too perfect. I wanted you out of the picture. I joked around with Hunter and ask how do we get rid of Shane? He said only Vince could do that. And that's where I got the idea. And if Marissa died then so be it."  
  
Shane stood up again. So did Eddy but he didn't look like he was going to stop him. Shane threw his beer at Shawn. "You are a real son of a bitch." He said and walked away.  
  
I was just given a glimpse of what Vince's group has been thinking. They are as cold hearted as I thought they were. I just listened to a man explain how and why he got a man to turn on his son. This man had been helping to kill people for years. And didn't care that he could have gotten Marissa killed. Thank God Cam's nothing like his father.  
  
Shawn left not long after Shane did leaving me, Eddy, and Erichson to sit there not saying anything.  
  
The trial was going to be interesting. 


	90. Oops?

This is from Athena's POV and takes place a few days after 89. :-) Since 89 was long, we're going to keep 90 relatively short.  
  
I woke up this morning with an unsettling feeling in my stomach. It'd been at least a week since jury selection started and at least five days since Danny got beat up by Shawn and Hunter's friends. At least five days since Shawn Michaels showed up at our hotel. We still don't know how Michaels learned where we were and a jury was still at most a week away from being seated. As the time comes closer and closer for the actual trial to begin I get more nervous. Too many things have gone wrong or a wry already. What else could happen.  
  
Erichson and the FBI agents around the hotel beefed up security after Michaels showed up. We were all on the same floor now, nobody wanting what happened to Danny to happen to anybody else. Nobody was allowed up unless they were on lists approved by both the FBI and ourselves and only those who were announced on the witness list were allowed to leave the hotel, much less the floor we were all on (Re: Everybody was allowed to go out but Dad, Danny's Dad and Steve Austin who were technically of course, dead). Nobody except for those on the announced witness list could call out either. They had told us of other measures as well, but by then my head was swimming with all the technical details so I sort of zoned out on most of them.  
  
As soon as I was dressed for the day I heard a knock on my door. I went and looked through the peephole on the door as a precaution. Too my surprise it was Scott Levy.  
  
"Morning Mr. Levy," I said opening the door to grant him access into my room.  
  
"Back at ya kid," he said entering, "and please I told you already. Please call me either Raven or Scotty now. I know I called ya kid, but from what you and your family told me in Canada, you're far more of an adult than Vince's spoiled little bitch."  
  
I blushed furiously. I'd met him a few times during my life. He didn't come by as often as Lance Storm, but he was a welcome presence in my Uncle Bret's home whenever I visited him and he was there. He never stopped by Mom's respecting Mom's wishes that nothing of wrestling grace her home after Dad's 'death.' He was always after the kids at Uncle Bret's to call him Raven, saying he felt old being called 'Mr. Levy.' I could never get comfortable calling him that.   
  
"Okay Mr. - Scotty," maybe I could get used to calling him that though it feels weird saying it. I let out a giggle. "Your black eye to Eric Bischoff is becoming something of a legend. Eric won't go into too much about how he got it except to say name.  
  
Scotty Levy snorted. "Bastard's deserved a lot more over the years. But I guess for the duration of the trial I'll hold off on that."  
  
"I'm sorry for showing up here," he said as I gestured for him to sit one of the beds in the room. Me and Megan Benoit were sharing a room being the only single women around at the moment. Megan was with her Father and Brother. "I was trying to find your Dad's room, but I guess I got the room numbers mixed up. Your Uncle called and said me and Lance could come up before the trial started in earnest. I figured I'd get together with your Dad and hopefully see Chris as well. Lance was downstairs sort of interrogating Eddy, so I decided to come up on my own for a bit.  
  
I smiled. "Mom and Dad are in the next room," I said pointing at the connecting door. "I would, however, knock first. I learned the hard way."  
  
Scott had a sardonic smile that was far less chilling than the similar expression Cam's dad had a few days ago. "Ah, I see your parents' reunion went well. I'm not surprised. Martha deep down always did have a forgiving nature. And she loved your dad with all she had. There were a lot of people that thought she lost a lot of herself when your Dad as believed dead. We weren't sure what would've happened if she hadn't had you and Oje to take care of."  
  
"Is that why she's been so opposed to me training to wrestle?" I asked softly.  
  
"That's probably part of it, though even if your Dad had been around these past 19 years, she probably wouldn't have been too happy with it at anyrate. I know that she wasn't too happy with your dad wrestling."  
  
"Really?" I asked, stunned. I was learning more about my mother and my family through other people than I was through her!  
  
Scott Levy nodded. "She supported him and wasn't vocal about it, but I think deep down she always wanted Owen to retire. Wrestling isn't a pretty business, of course you've been around just long enough to find that out yourself."  
  
I snorted. "Yeah really, like people trying to kill other people."  
  
Levy smirked again. "Yeah well, that's Vince for you. But anyways, Martha was always afraid that Owen would end up seriously hurt to the point of not being around or be able to help take care of you and Oje. Of course that's probably always a fear of a wrestler's spouse. Of course nobody seriously entertains that somebody will get killed in a ring. You ever hear what your Mom's and Dad's reaction was to the stunt at Kemper that night?"  
  
"I know that Dad tried to get out of doing the stunt and wasn't successful," I answered. I never found out how Mom reacted that night.  
  
The man in front of me nodded. "Yeah there was that. From what everybody else tells me your Mom was beyond unhappy. She was insistent that Owen not do the stunt that night. I think Martha sensed something bad was going to happen. It was kinda similar to Debra Austin's reaction to the scaffold match," he finished his eyes suddenly downcast.  
  
Uh - oh. Up until then I had completely forgotten that Scott Levy had no clue that Steve Austin was alive. Dad didn't tell anybody that little fact up when we were home in Canada and I had to assume this was the first time Raven had interacted with anybody from our family since that night in Canada when he found out about my Dad and Danny's Dad. This was probably a good time to see if Dad was awake and let him know what was going on. Maybe he could break the news to Scott gently.  
  
I was heading over to knock on the doors connecting my room to my parents' when I heard a knock on the main door to my hotel room. I went over to answer it with Scott Levy standing behind me.  
  
Please don't let it be a dead person.  
  
I opened the door and sure enough Steve Austin was on the other side of it.  
  
"Hey there, is your Dad up?" he asked with a smile on his face. He looked over my shoulder a little confused. "Scotty? Is that you?"  
  
A second later I heard a distinct thump on the floor and I knew, I just 'knew' that the man known as Raven fainted. I let Austin in and went to my parents door, not really caring this time that I might walk in on something. Fortunately they were already dressed for the day as I poked my head through the door and said:  
  
"Dad, there's a passed out wrestler on the floor."  
  
Sad that I'm used to this by now. 


	91. Wouldn't You Freak Out If a Dead Man Ans...

Athena's POV. Picks up right where last chapter left off :-D  
  
Additional notes: Trying something of a comedy heavy chapter. Things get a bit more serious in 92.  
  
I knocked on Chris and Danny's door, after Dad instructed me what do to do.   
  
"Yes?" Megan Benoit's voice called out.  
  
I peeked into the room.  
  
"Athena? What's going on?" Megan said seeing me enter the hotel room. Her father came out behind her.  
  
"Dad wanted me to go get you and Eddy. He kinda needs some help."  
  
"Why?" Danny's dad asked suspiciously.  
  
"Because Scott Levy's passed out on the floor of my hotel room," I said simply.  
  
Danny's father pinched his nose as if he was about to have a headache.  
  
"And why is Scotty passed out in your room?"  
  
"Because when he and I were talking I opened the door and he fainted at the sight of Steve Austin," I answered matter of factly. I added more before he could ask further.  
  
"Uncle Bret thought that since Scott and Uncle Lance already knew that you and Dad were alive that it would be okay for them to visit before the trial started. He just forgot that Dad conveniently didn't mention that Austin was also alive as well that night at Aunt Julie's and Uncle Bret's."  
  
Danny's dad let out a groan. Megan looked startled. Just then Danny came in and saw the three of us talking.  
  
"What's going on?" Danny asked confused.  
  
"Something of a nuclear meltdown if I know Raven when he comes too," Chris Benoit muttered, causing Danny's face to contort in confusion further. Well, as much as he could with the broken nose he had. The elder Benoit looked at his son with concern.  
  
"How ya feeling?" he asked.  
  
"Better," Danny responded. "My head's feeling less fuzzy and my nose doesn't feel like it's hanging like a hinge off my face. Ribs are still killing me though."  
  
"Trust me from experience, it takes awhile for ribs to heal," Danny's father told his son.  
  
"Who's Raven?" Danny asked.  
  
While Chris seemed to try and figure out how to explain, I jumped into the conversation.   
  
"He's the man that gave Eric Bischoff the black eye while we where in Canada," I replied helpfully.  
  
"Oh, that actually explains a few things," Danny answered back.  
  
"Okay, listen, I'm heading down towards Athena's room -"  
  
"Dad and Steve Austin were going to try and carry Scott to the common room between My parents room and Tammy and Michael's," I interrupted.  
  
"Okay, I'm heading down that way. Megan, Danny, stay in here. Danny your not up for any confrontations verbal, or physical. Athena, you have any idea where Eddy is?"  
  
"Mr - Scott said that he was down in the lobby being sort of interrogated by Uncle Lance," I replied.  
  
Chris groaned again.  
  
"Great. Well, find Eddy and see if you two can figure out a way for Lance to find out about Austin in private, preferably without him dropping to the floor."  
  
"Got it," I said and went down to the lobby to see where Eddy was. It did cross my mind briefly why nobody asked me to get Eric. But then I realized that Dad and Uncle Bret had to have told some people about what happened to Eric the night with my aunts in Canada and figured that it wasn't for the best to have Eric anywhere near people he'd made enemies with over the years. Of course he also lived in Atlanta so he might not necessarily be at the hotel at the moment.  
  
I got down to the private area of the lounge where five days prior Shane McMahon threw a drink into Shawn Hickenbottom's face and sure enough there was Eddy in a corner with Uncle Bret and Uncle Lance. But there were also two other men I didn't recognize. Both had short hair with streaks of grey but one had brown hair so dark it was almost black and the other had blonde.  
  
"Your fucking shitting me?!" the blonde said in a jersey accent.  
  
"Geez, advertise it so Vince's henchpeople can hear it," Uncle Lance said to the blonde.  
  
"Yeah Page, keep it down," the darker haired man said sipping on some coffee. "I can understand why you didn't tell anybody. Vince always did have a knack for finding out things, but why tell us now? Isn't that more of a risk with the trial so close?"  
  
"Which is precisely why we're decided to tell you guys now," Eddy explained. "The testimony is due to start soon and there's going to be a lot of people who are going to be looking into newspapers and seeing dead faces staring back at them."  
  
"We didn't want you guys and a few others to have to find out though the papers about a lot of this. That's why it was decided to call as many friends as we could before a jury was seated and tell you guys up front, rather than finding out from CNN or the Post or something like that," Uncle Bret said.  
  
"So," the blonde man, who was chomping on a cigar, said. "So far we've got Benoit and Owen, mind telling us who else we should expect to pop up out of their grave in this mess Vince created?"  
  
Eddy and Uncle Bret looked at each other.  
  
I cleared my throat then to make my presence felt.  
  
"Ahem,"  
  
Eddy and Uncle Bret looked up across the table just then as I approached. Uncle Bret stood up to stand next to me at the table.  
  
"Hey, Athena, there's two people I want you too meet. Page Faulkenberg," he said pointing to the man with the blonde hair, "who wrestled as Diamond Dallas Page or DDP for both Vince and Eric, and the man who's probably known as the face of the former Extreme Championship Wrestling, Tommy Dreamer."  
  
"How do you do?" Tommy Dreamer said, shaking my hand.  
  
Page's cigar nearly fell and burned his lap. "THAT'S Owen's little girl? Geez, Bret, that's not a kid, that's a - "  
  
"Hey!" Uncle Bret stopped whatever Page was going to say.  
  
"Um, I need to talk to you and Eddy, in private if possible," I said to Uncle Bret.  
  
"Hey, Athena, where's Raven?" Lance asked.  
  
GULP!  
  
"Um, he sort of fainted in my room," I struggled to get out.  
  
Lance's eyes went wide as did Uncle Bret's, Eddy, and Tommy Dreamer's.  
  
"What?!" Lance and Dreamer exclaimed.  
  
"I'm probably going to regret asking this, but just what the hell would make somebody like Scotty faint in somebody's hotel room?" Dreamer asked.  
  
"Um, lets just say that it has a lot to do with a certain something, or rather, someone, that Dad and Eric forgot to mention when we were up in Canada." I simply said facing Uncle Bret while doing it.  
  
Eddy looked like he wanted to groan, while Lance looked a little confused. Dreamer seemed to have a look of comprehension and Page looked a little shocked.  
  
"I'll be damned," Dreamer said at the same time Page exclaimed "Eric?"  
  
Uncle Bret did groan. "I knew I should've made him stay down here. You and Eddy go, I'll try to explain things down here and Eric should be here soon."  
  
So me and Eddy headed back upstairs while Uncle Bret was left with three confused men with a whole lot of questions.  
  
The common room wasn't too packed by the time we got back there. Just Dad and my family, Shane McMahon, Shane Douglas, Mark Calloway, Chris Benoit, Michael and Tammy, Austin and his wife and of course a very pissed off Scott Levy.  
  
Scott Levy didn't look to happy about things when me and Eddy came back to the living room connecting some of the various rooms in the hotel. I sat down on the couch next to Mom. In fact he looked downright furious about matters.   
  
"So who's next?" Levy asked, "Lawler, Angle, Piper, Heyman?"  
  
Four or five voices including Eddy and Chris's dad all practically shouted NO! as this Heyman's name was called out.  
  
"Nobody else is coming back from the dead," Erichson stated.  
  
"Forgive me if I don't take that statement at face value. I seemed to have heard that before," Levy said glaring at my father.  
  
"Well, this time it's really the truth," Shane McMahon said sighing and sitting down. "Kurt was one of Vince's favorites, so we're pretty sure that my Dad didn't have anything to do with his death. We can't find anything to prove murder one way or the other with Lawler, except Vince was involved, Jacobs had nothing to do with it," There was something approaching sadness in Calloway's eyes when the name Jacobs was mentioned.  
  
"As for Heyman," Eddy broke in, "I made sure myself that bastard was dead. Faking a fatal heart attack in the middle of the ring and coming back would be the sort of thing that bastard would do."  
  
I wanted to ask who this Heyman guy was, since there was such vehemence in the way people spoke about him, but I figured this probably wasn't the right time to ask, considering the tense atmosphere.  
  
"Heart attack, eh? Seems like an appropriate way for that bastard to go," Steve Austin said.  
  
"As for Roddy Piper, we pretty much determined it was a natural undiagnosed brain tumor that killed him and not Vince McMahon," Erichson finished.  
  
"Yeah, well all the substances he put in himself didn't help that any either," Scott said.  
  
Raven signed sitting on the edge of one of the couches. "Could somebody explain things to me. The WHOLE explanation this time?"  
  
So those involved in the deaths and resurrections explained their stories again and sometime later Faulkenberg, Dreamer and Uncle Lance came up along with Uncle Bret. There were a lot of emotion reunions and I don't think I've ever seen tears in so many men's eyes before. Eddy came up to me.  
  
"I'm going to check on Danny, and I'll be back in a minute okay?" he whispered.  
  
"Okay," I said, watching him go out the door.  
  
Okay, ball's in Dana's court now. 92 will be more serious. 


	92. Dropping By

I did feel much better. Though my ribs did hurt a lot but my nose was less swollen. I was still bandaged up. But Megan did tell me I look less like a raccoon.  
  
There was a knock on the door. With everyone who's been dropping by there was no telling who it was. I looked through the peephole and saw it wad David with Nick and Kelly. I let them in. I gave my nephews a hug before I stepped back. "Sally couldn't make it?" I figured dad would have let David bring his wife.  
  
"She had to work. Danny what happened to your nose?"  
  
"Don't ask." I said with a sigh. I didn't want to tell him in front of my nephews. "Let me get dad."  
  
I found dad in the common room like he said he would be. I sort of signaled him and he came over. "Dad David, Nick, and Kelly are here."  
  
"Great! Let me see my grandkids." We walked into the room.  
  
David and dad hugged before David turned around to face his sons. "Dad these are your grandsons Christopher Kelly and Nicholas Charles." I had forgotten Kelly's first name was actually Christopher. We've been calling him Kelly since he was born. "Nick and Kelly this is your grandpa." I wonder how he told them about that. They both knew we had been told our dad was dead.  
  
Dad hugged them both. I know I saw tears in his eyes. Dad turned to me. "I think Eddy's looking for you."  
  
I nodded. Oh well dad should spend some private time with his grandsons. He did look really happy to see them. I hope Tatem brings Misha. I know dad isn't her actual grandfather but I've heard Tatem talk to Misha about him. This wasn't the first time I've cursed Hunter, Stephanie, and Vince for forcing dad to stay away from us.  
  
I wonder what Eddy wants? I walked through two connecting doors before I found Uncle Eddy. He was on the phone so I stood back and did what has been getting me in trouble I eavesdropped.  
  
"Yeah Mando that sounds good." Ah Uncle Eddy's talking to one of his brothers. "Chavito there? No no I was just wondering if he was there. Yeah tell him and D-Lo they are doing a good job. You too." He chuckled. "No someone will take care of the bills." He looked up and saw me standing there. He signaled me to sit. "I'll talk to you later. Love you bro." He hung up. "I think he's doing a better job running OVW then I did when I first took over."  
  
"I like Mando." I said and it was true. The month I spent in El Paso I stayed at Mando's house. He's a lot older then Uncle Eddy but then again so is the rest of his brothers and sisters.  
  
He laughed. "I know he likes you too." He sighed. "I never thought I'd be running a wrestling school. After your dad 'died' I pretty much dropped out of the wrestling picture. I'd get an invitation to wrestle in Japan every once in a while and I accepted some of the invitations. But I was mostly in Florida. I had no viable reason to be in San Antonio or Kentucky. Not anything that would get away from the curious stares. You've been at OVW long enough to know it's history right?" I nodded. People love to gossip in OVW over everything.  
  
"Jim Cornette ran the training facility for over ten years. He did a great job. The company produced people like Nick Dinsmore, Fire and Ice, Dave Batista, Randy Orton, and John Cena but you already know that. I really was trying to stay out of the wrestling picture. And then an opportunity landed in my lap."  
  
Eddy stopped talking and he looked thoughtful. "I never thought of myself as a trainer. I helped train Chavito." He had a grin on his face. "You and I sort of have something in common. Believe it or not my family tried to persuade me into not becoming a wrestler. I'm the youngest and my brothers were already in the business even though growing up my dad was retired. My family knew I wanted to wrestle so they trained me.  
  
"I loved the sport for the longest time and now with training I love it again. But of course the sport had a very dark side. I do remember getting the phone call from Vince. Jim Cornette had died a few weeks before in a car accident. That was not, from what we can tell, a Vince crime. Anyway, Vince called me and I didn't want to work for Vince so I bought the company. Sorry for repeating myself. I do miss the school." He looked at my closely. "So how are you feeling?"  
  
""Better." I answered which was the truth. I did feel better then I did five days ago.  
  
Uncle Eddy nodded. ""Your father could tell you a thing about broken noses. He's broken his nose more times then I remember. I don't think he remembers how many times either."  
  
"You going to bring Riki by?" I asked. Riki is Uncle Eddy's wife. She's a really nice woman and I already knew she knew everything. I did wonder why I hadn't seen her here yet.  
  
"She's visiting Carmen. It's a yearly trip we take and we figured one of us should go. She'll be here next week." He sat down on dad's bed. "Lance Storm, Tommy Dreamer, and Page Faulkenberg are here." I knew who Lance and Page were. They had been friends of my dad's. Page lived here in Atlanta and on a very rare occasion would drop by our house. I don't think I've met Lance but I did get a birthday card from him every year. I have no idea who this Tommy Dreamer was though.  
  
Uncle Eddy didn't explain who he was. He continued. "There will be quite a few people dropping by. We are letting friends know what's going on before they read it in the paper or see it on the news. There are a few who we can't contact because they are out of the country." He had a slight smile on his face. "Thought it's going to be a disaster when they see Bischoff. The black eye may be the least of his worries. He's lucky Ric didn't kill him. You ever hear what happened when Bischoff came to the WWF?" I shook my head. This could be interesting.  
  
"Ric got Arn to watch the door. Ric went in and beat the shit out of Eric. I heard Vince asked if Ric had planned to do that to anyone else. Ric told him Hogan. Vince about had a heartattack. Hogan did stuff to Ric and Ric's son David in WCW. WCW was horrible back them. Wasn't all Bischoff's fault. WCW had too many turnovers in management. Worst then they did was replace Bischoff with an accountant. Busch didn't know a thing about wrestling. And it appeared to a lot of us that Russo was trying to destroy WCW from the inside out." He sighed. "I don't like Bischoff but he couldn't be blamed for everything."  
  
"Hey Eddy." We both looked up to see Megan enter the room. "She was carrying a small book.  
  
"Hey Megan." He said giving her a smile.  
  
I did wonder how Megan felt about being around a lot of people she didn't know. She doesn't know Eddy as well as I do though she has told me Eddy used to come up and see her once a year. It was harder for him to go to Edmonton then it was for him to come to Atlanta.  
  
I noticed then that they volume on this floor had gotten a lot louder. "I think Bischoff's here." I'm going to see that there hasn't been any blood shed." Eddy left the room.  
  
Megan walked up to me and handed me the book she had been carrying. I opened it. It was a scrapbook. I flipped through it. They were all newspaper articles about dad.  
  
"I went to the library years ago and copied every article they had on dad. I thought you'd want to look at it. I never told my mother or Gabe that I had done it. You are the first one I've told." She seemed shy. Megan has never been shy. This whole thing has changed her.  
  
"This is great you should show..."  
  
"Wait a second! You should..." I heard someone say in the hallway. I think it was dad.  
  
The door opened. I turned around.  
  
"What the hell happened to my son?" 


	93. Making it Final

Notes: I want to apologize for the confusion of 92. I didn't think it was confusing I was going for a cliffhanger. First word of this whole chapter answers your questions.  
  
"Mom!" I was surprised to see her standing there. I hadn't thought she'd come back. She had been so mad when she left.  
  
Dad came in. He looked really worried. Not that I blame him. "Nancy I can explain..."  
  
"I'm glad you can explain why our son has a broken nose." Mom would kill us if she knew what had happened. "There was an incided..." Dad started to say.  
  
"An incident? Where?" She demanded. "Here?"  
  
"Yes he was beat up."  
  
"By who? No I can guess. Vince's crew right?" She didn't even wait for us to answer. "I knew him staying here wasn't a good idea. Chris can you honestly say you and Steve are safe here?" Interesting that mom just said dad and Steve. I wonder why she didn't say Owen? Wait a minute, how does she know about Steve Austin? "Mom what do you mean?"  
  
"I mean how can your father and Steve Austin be protected if they attack you? How can you keep unwanted people off this floor?" Oh boy mom if you only know who has been on this floor. "I think it would be best if Daniel stays at my house. We at least have a security alarm."  
  
"I'd feel better if I knew where Danny was at all times." Dad answered. I don't think I will like where this is going. It'll probably lead to another argument. Mom was glaring at dad. And dad was staring right back at her.  
  
"Mom I'm fine here. Don't worry about me." I said hoping to defuse the situation.  
  
Mom spun around to face me. "Don't worry about you? You are sitting here with a broken nose after you were attacked in this hotel and you don't want me to worry about you? Is there anything else I should know about?" I don't think now is a good time to tell her I have a couple of broken ribs. I know how she'd react.  
  
"Look Nancy we have improved security. The only ones allowed onto this floor have to be on a list. There's more agents on this floor then there was before and everyone's been moved to this floor."  
  
"I'm um going to go uh check on David." Megan said making a quick exit. She was smart. I kinda wish I had that option right now.  
  
"I don't' know what to believe Chris. A few weeks ago I found out you were alive. Just now I found out Daniel was beaten up at this hotel. How am I supposed to believe he's safe much less anyone else here."  
  
"What did you mean when you asked about Steve?" I asked. I bet Debra called her but I want to make sure. I mean she left here before we told her about Owen much less Steve.  
  
"Debra called me telling me she just got back from going to her house in San Antonio. She said she had seen you there too Daniel. I think she thought since I knew about Chris I knew about Steve. So I see I'm not the only one you all kept in the dark all these years. Is there anyone else I should know about?"  
  
I looked at dad. I guess now would be a good time to tell her about Owen. But I didn't want to be the one to tell her. But then again I don't think dad wants to tell her either.  
  
"Nancy there is one person. Owen Hart is alive." Dad said rather bluntly. I guess that's the only way to tell someone something like that. Mom sat down in one of the chairs. But she did look quite angry. That is expected. I hope she doesn't slap dad again.  
  
Mom didn't say anything for the longest time. Dad and I didn't say anything. "How could you keep this from me for almost fourteen years?" Mom finally said.  
  
"Nancy we didn't have a choice. I had to stay hidden because we were afraid Vince and Hunter would try again or they would go after you and the kids. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to any of you."  
  
Mom looked at me. I can probably guess what she is thinking. I do feel sorry for my mother. This had all been dropped on her and it was my fault for trying to unite my parents.  
  
"Yeah well I see that's going well." Mom said crossing her arms. "Chris I don't want anything to happen to Daniel. I tried to keep him away from the wrestling world for fourteen years but he wanted to be a wrestler. Have you seen his tattoo?"  
  
That would almost be funny if this was a different situation. My mother hated my tattoo I think mostly because it was a Pegasus.  
  
"Yeah I saw it. I think Levi did a great job on it." Dad said. That reminds me I need to tell Levi somehow.  
  
Mom's eyes flashed with anger. "Well I don't. Daniel was only sixteen at the time." She sighed. "I was here for a reason. We need to make this divorce finalized. Who do I need to talk to?"  
  
"I think Erichson would know the best way to handle this. Let me show you where..."  
  
"Don't show me anything Chris. I want to talk to Daniel first. Alone." She added.  
  
Dad shrugged and left the room. Mom turned her attention back to me. "Is this the room you now have?"  
  
"No this one is Uncle Eddy's. I share with dad." I wonder why she asked.  
  
She nodded. "I think you need to go to your room and pack. You aren't safe here. I don't know why anyone seems to think you are. You've been beaten up in your own hotel room. You will be much safer at home. We have a security alarm.  
  
"But mom I don't want to go home. I want to be here with the others. One incident doesn't mean anything. They've beefed up security!" I was not going to tell her about HBK and Uncle Dean and Uncle Perry breaking in. That wouldn't help this argument.  
  
"That's nice Daniel, but I'd feel better if I knew you truly were safe and I don't think you are safe here. You can't honestly say you are." She looked at me as if challenging me to disagree. I gulped. She was right but I couldn't admit it to her. "I thought so."  
  
"Mom I really want to stay here. The trial is starting soon and I want to be with everyone. This floor is covered with FBI agents. No one's getting up here without their clearance. Trust me!"  
  
She sighed. "Daniel I'm worried about your safety. I'd hate to think something could happen to you at this hotel but something could. It already has."  
  
"Mom I know but I really think I should stay here." Boy this conversation was going in circles. I was hoping she'd back down like she did when I argued with her about becoming a wrestler. She eventually realized I was eighteen and more then capable of making my own decisions. I was hoping she'd do that today.  
  
"Okay Daniel. I guess I can't change your mind." I was in luck! "Just be really careful. Now can you show me to this Agent Erichson?"  
  
"Follow me." I said even though I really didn't know where he was. I think we take up every room on the floor. I heard the hotel had cleared the whole floor for us, which I was glad for. With all the yelling that takes place it's a good thing. We certainly don't want to raise suspicion.  
  
I decided to try the common room hoping Bischoff wasn't there. I looked in the room first and found Erichson talking to his wife. There were others in the room but no Bischoff. I walked over to Erichson. "My mom wants to talk to you about getting finalizing the divorce." I signaled for mom to come in.  
  
Tammy got out of her seat so mom could sit down.  
  
I wasn't happy with the decision but I knew there was no other options. 


	94. From the Grave Part 1

Notes: This is from Athena's POV. We're also going to see, sort of, from another dead character in the next part. You'll see what we mean.

This takes place a day after 93 timeline wise.

Sorry for the long wait. Laptop finally died on me. - Juliet.

You all were going to get a long note from me but I forgot my disk but luckily I had my other one. If Jules keeps her promise you'll have 95 today. But that's only if she finishes it while I'm at the library. So cross your fingers you get it tomorrow! But don't worry she'll finish it today. Enjoy! -Dana

_94_

_Beyond the Grave Part 1_

_**Athena's POV**_

I went with Debra Austin over to her house to help her get some clothing and things to take back with her to the hotel room she was sharing with her husband. Everybody decided that since I was really the only one that hadn't been in the public eye during all of this I was perfect to go and help Debra without causing a commotion or attracting unwanted press. It was small compared to my mother's but then again from what I gathered Debra Austin never had any children of her own and didn't have much of a need for a big house; unlike my Mom and Danny's Mom who had two or more small children after their husbands died and Danny's mom even adopted one. The house reminded me of the house of one of my childhood friends who grew up in the country. It had a very quaint homey feel to it.

It seemed that like my Mom, Debra kept a few clothing and other things of her husband around as well. I noticed coming in above the fireplace a wrestling belt incased in a plaque that had a gold skull in the middle with what seemed like silver or platinum smoke coming out of where it's ears would be. I also saw Debra go into a jewelry box and dig out a skull ring from a corner of it. Very strange.

As we got done packing both her stuff and a few of her husband's stuff, the doorbell rang.

"You weren't expecting anybody were you?" I asked.

Debra subtly shook her head as she headed towards the front door. She looked through the peephole and had an expression of somebody who was happy and yet confused. So it probably wasn't one of Vince's men, but it also wasn't somebody like Eddy or Eric either.

She unlocked and opened the door for the graying man in front of her.

"Al!" She exclaimed opening the door and hugging the man.

I knew who Al Snow was. He was the color commentator on for the WWF's RAW and occasionally SMACKDOWN TV programs. He was also out of a job depending on whether Shane McMahon folded the WWF or not. I wondered how he felt about that.

"Hey Debra," he said coming into the house. "How are you holding up?"

Debra gave him a tight smile. Of course if he was a close friend of hers, she couldn't tell him the whole truth. I wonder how hard that will be on her. "I'm doing fine. How are you? I mean with Vince getting taken down and WWF being shut down and everything? And I thought you were doing a promotional tour for your book in England?"

"Well, to answer your second question, I wasn't expecting to come back until after the trial, but somebody, or rather, _two_ somebodies had a hand in making me come back early. As for the first, about as well as could be expected upon learning that your boss arranged to murder some of your closest friends," he replied, sitting down heavily. He glanced over towards me. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company Debra."

"Oh, I'm sorry. How rude of me," she exclaimed, suddenly remembering that I was here with her. "Uh, Al Snow this is - " She trailed off wondering how to introduce me.

Oh well, it was going to come out when I testified provided that Stephanie didn't vindictively leak it out first.

"Athena," I said, stepping forward to shake the man's hand, "Athena Hart."

Al Snow's eyes widened at that. "Hart?" he choked out looking from me to Debra Austin. "As in?"

"Owen's youngest, yep," she nodded. "Bret's here for the trial, among other people."

"It's the other people I kinda wanted to inquire about," Snow said, "more specifically, have you seen Eddy around Atlanta or know where I may find him?"

Debra and I sort of exchanged this look. Usually anybody inquiring about Eddy was almost never good in my experience because that usually meant that person was about to find out about the secret. Good thing the trial's about to start.

"Why do you ask Al?"

Al Snow sighed. "One of the reasons I'm back early is that Colette called me and asked me to come to New York for a couple of days."

"How's she doing?" Debra asked softly. Then she turned to me. "Colette is Mick Foley's widow."

I nodded. The name Foley wasn't unfamiliar to me (Even having next to nil knowledge on wrestling history thanks to Mom, even I know who Mick Foley was thanks to people at OVW idolizing him and all the coverage given to his death). I overheard Dad and Uncle Bret one night at the cabin discuss Mick Foley and my dad had said at the time "Vince may have pushed him to an early grave with all the killing he ordered but he didn't cause his death directly, I know that much." I wondered just what made Dad so sure about that.

"She's doing better. Probably the only one of us who is," Snow responded. "She still misses him"

Debra nodded. "We all do. I can't believe it's coming up on a year since he passed away. Sometimes I still expect him to call and say ask how I'm doing."

It was Al Snow's turn to nod. "At least he got to die on his own terms. Not many of us can say that."

Debra seemed to understand that.

"Anyways," Al said, reaching back for the package he had with him when he came through the door. It looked thick and the older man handled it like it was a fragile glass.

"Colette asked me to give this to Eddy. She didn't tell me what exactly it was or why. Only that it had to do with Vince getting taken down, I should give this to Eddy and he'd know what to do with it." He handed the package over to Debra.

She gave it a slight shake. "Seems like a cassette inside."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't be surprised. Mick never did like advanced technology. He wrote all his books by hand," the man said ruefully. Then his expression got serious.

"Debra, I have to ask you something rather bluntly. Is Steve alive?"

I looked at Debra in shock. Both of us were stunned by the rather pointed question.

"Wha - why are you asking this Al?" she asked, thrown by the sudden question.

Al Snow sighed and walked out of the house. He came back a few minutes later with a blonde girl, about my age with these blue eyes that looked familiar.

Debra gasped. "Cassidy?! My word, aren't you supposed to be in England?"

"Jeanne probably thinks so," the lone man in the room snorted. "I touch down in England, and suddenly find her waiting outside my car," he said pointing at the woman Debra had identified as Cassidy.

Debra looked concerned. "Cassie, does your mother know your here?" the older woman asked worry in her voice.

"No, and if what she and Darren were talking about was true, then I never want her to know where I am!" the younger woman nearly shouted with a British accent. She looked to be on the verge of crying.

"What?" Debra looked shocked.

We all sat down in Debra Austin's living room and Cassidy and Al began to explain. Apparently Cassidy was Steve Austin's youngest daughter (so that's why the eyes looked familiar) and she overheard her mother and either a friend or a boyfriend Darren Matthews, who Al explained used to be a British wrestler who wrestled in the states under the names of Steven Regal and William Regal, arguing about how Steve Austin didn't deserve to have her daughters know that he was alive. Apparently things went extremely sour between Austin and his first wife and she moved herself and their two daughters to England to keep them away from Steve. Time obviously hadn't changed his ex's enmity towards him. Cassidy looked torn between being really angry and crying.

Debra looked extremely upset about hearing this. She yanked forward the first thing within arm's reach on the chair she was sitting on, which was the package Al Snow had brought from England with him. A VHS tape tore through the fragile packaging and fell to the floor followed by an envelope.

Debra sighed and picked it up preparing to put it back into the wrapping it been in when her hand started shaking. The rest of the people in the room went to see why she looked like she had suddenly seen a ghost and figured out why.

The tape had a label with one single handwritten word on it: Steve.

What were the odds that Colette Foley would want Eddy Guererro to have a tape addressed to a person that had the same name as Debra Austin's husband?

And apparently that was only half the story as Al took the tape from Debra.

"What? Why would Mick address a tape to a dead man? Debra?" Al looked at her with a warring mixture of confusion, hope and anger.

Debra shook herself out of her shock.

"I think," she said in a somewhat shaky voice, putting the envelope that was addressed to her and the tape addressed to her husband. "That we better go see Eddy."

She looked at Cassidy as she grabbed her keys.

"And it's time you saw your father."

Cassidy's tears overflowed and she hugged the older woman.

"Come on," I said to Cassidy, "there's some things that need to be loaded into the car and I'll explain a few things." I figured Debra probably wanted to tell Al Snow in private about Dad and Chris Benoit before we left.

Well, things continue to get interesting.


	95. From the Grave Part 2

95 is written in Danny's POE and takes place where 94 left off. Now you'll get the Beyond the Grave chapter title for this mini - arc. - Juliet

One more note: "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" doesn't exist. Yet.

Well we dragged Jules kicking and screaming to finish 95 (it's a joke Jules!) but she did. And she did a great job! 96 has a couple of people who haven't been in this fic yet. I think one's been mentioned and I know that person we've been bugged about. TTFN! -Dana

I was sitting on the couch watching TV while various others around me were talking about the trial and other stuff. Dad, Steve, and Owen were sitting around talking, probably catching up on 20 years or so. Eddy and Erichson were talking about something in hushed tones. I noticed Michael was on the phone earlier and looking very serious. At one point Eddy turned as white as a sheet. I wonder what all that was about? Last time he looked that white was when Uncle Dean and Perry found out about Dad. I was feeling better physically, but after the confrontation between Mom and Dad yesterday I felt ten times worse emotionally.

Erichson suddenly got up and left the main room that interconnected to a few of the rooms on this floor. Eddy also left the room but came back a few seconds later with a VCR. I recognized it as the one he kept in his office at OVW. The one I used to play the tape of Atlanta to Chavo that day I went to confront Eddy.

"Danny can you turn the TV off for a second?" Uncle Eddy asked as he went to start trying to connect the VCR to the plasma TV I'd previously been watching.

"What's going on Eddy?" Owen asked.

"I got a call from Debra and Athena," Eddy started to explain. "They're on their way back to the hotel, but they ran into some unexpected developments on their way out the door."

"What sort of complications?" Eric asked, coming into the room. Eric had opted not to show up until AFTER my mother had left the hotel yesterday, which meant that practically everybody but my mother knew about Eric's involvement in faking Dad, Steve, and Owen's death. I'm almost dreading what she'll do to him when she DOES find out. Somehow I don't think Eric will get a slap like my Dad did.

I did find out yesterday that Eddy did tell Mom about his involvement in this mess. She wasn't happy with him either, needless to say.

Eddy sighed. Definitely did that a lot. "Two people showed up at her house, One of them sent looking for me with something that I'd actually been waiting for, for awhile. They're on their way here now. That's why Erichson left. He's gone downstairs to clear them on up here."

"What kind of something?" Steve asked.

Another sigh from Uncle Eddy. "I think I'd better wait until they get here to explain everything, but in short, Al Snow came by to find me to give me a package from Colette Foley." Dad, Owen, and Eric's eyes suddenly seemed to comprehend understanding. I wonder what other secrets they're hiding?

"I thought Al was in England on a book tour?" Bret Hart asked coming into the room with Shane McMahon.

"He was, but Colette apparently called him and asked him to come to New York to get what she wanted me to have. It'll be explained when Erichson and the rest get back up here." Eddy explained.

"Who's the other person?" I asked.

Eddy, stood, his face softening somewhat as he looked at Steve with what he said next: "Apparently Al ended up with your youngest along for part of the ride into the States," Eddy finished smiling some.

"Cassidy?" Steve asked, his voice gruffer than usual with emotion, tears in his eyes.

I knew Steve had kids but I didn't know they lived on the other side of the ocean!

Before anything else could be discussed Erichson came in with Athena stepping in first followed by RAW announcer Al Snow. Debra walked in with a blonde girl, who looked about Athena's age. She looked at Steve with tears in her eyes.

"Daddy!" she said running towards the man.

"Cass," Steve whispered, his voice as rough as I'd ever heard it. I looked around the room and I noticed Debra Austin had a few tears in her eyes as well. Everybody else looked emotional at the sight of the father/daughter reunion.

Everybody gave Father and Daughter a few minutes to themselves as Al Snow handed Uncle Eddie a package that looked suspiciously like a videotape.

_Not another one!_

"Ahem," Eddie cleared his throat, interrupting things. "Before I tell you guys what Colette gave me, there's a few matters that need to be cleared up first. One of those is the true nature of Mick Foley's death,"

There were a few gasps at that statement. Of course there would be. The story had always been that Mick passed suddenly, and in his sleep.

Bret turned to his brother. "I thought you said - "

Owen shook his head as Eddie continued: "Mick wasn't killed by Vince as some might be thinking. He did pass away in his sleep, but it wasn't as sudden as some might think." Eddie then turned to Al Snow as if asking if he wanted to pick this up. I wondered about that until I remembered something that Uncle Dean had mentioned to me at Mick's funeral about Al and Mick were best friends. So maybe it stood to reason that Al knew more about what caused Foley's death than anybody else.

Al sighed and took over. "Mick had inoperable brain cancer," he explained, "similar to what killed Piper, actually except it didn't cause the personality changes in Mick that it did Piper before he died. Colette and Mick found out about a year before he died. But Mick, being Mick, he didn't want anybody to pity him or look at him different because he was sick. Plus with so many wrestling deaths over the years, some not so dead it turns out," he added looking at three people in particular, "he didn't want hardly any of his close friends to watch him slowly die. So he and Colette kept it quiet and only told a few people what was really happening. Me, Debra, Dean, Eddie to name a few. I think he told you, Ric as well."

Uncle Ric nodded. "He wanted to make amends with me before he died." Make amends? I didn't know that there was anything acrimonious between Ric and Mick. I'd have to ask Ric for the story about that later.

Eddie took back over the story: "Once Mick told me about it, I needed to make a few decisions. I talked to Michael, and eventually Eric, and decided on something important."

"We decided to tell Mick the truth about what was going on. Everything."

The room was quiet with shock. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Eddie, who had bent over backwards to keep almost everybody in this room from finding out the truth, just dropped a huge bombshell that he and the others decided to reveal the whole truth to Mick Foley!

"I felt, that if Mick was going to die, then it wasn't worth it to keep not only the truth about his friends from him but see his friends as well."

Wait a minute, does he mean?

"When Eddie told us that Mick was dying, we agreed it was worth the risk to travel to New York to see him," Dad broke in, speaking up for the first time since Eddie brought the VCR in the room.

"Took at little bit to work out, especially since Vince was using Eric heavily the weekend we took the trip, so we had to use one of the FBI's pilots, but we managed to get in and out without Vince finding out thank goodness. Little bit trickier with Mick's funeral, but that turned out good as well. Of course that was a year ago and given what's happened since I'm not sure we could get away with that one again."

"How did Mick take things?" Al asked. Hell I'm wondering how Al's taking the fact that three people he thought were dead are actually alive?

Dad chuckled. "He wasn't too happy at first. Kinda had a reaction similar to Ric's when he showed up where we were hiding. Luckily there wasn't a car involved," there were a few chuckles, and Uncle Ric grimaced.

"I think though, he was happy to see us again," Owen said. "But I think it was bittersweet for all of us because we were telling Mick the truth and he was going to die. Those weren't the circumstances we'd ever wanted to tell him under."

There was a sadness permeating around the room after that. So I spoke up.

"You said you told him everything - "

Eddie chuckled, "I told him about Eric before I brought Shane, Owen, and Chris in. Wasn't too thrilled about that fact if I recall. As for Steve," Eddie opened the package and took out, I was right, I videotape. "That's what this is for."

"Colette told me at Mick's funeral, that shortly after we visited, he made a tape, that was for the most part addressed to Steve, but had messages for Owen, Chris, and Shane as well. At the time we thought that Steve would never wake up from the coma. Colette and me made an agreement that she would keep the videotape unless one of two things happened:

One: Steve woke up, in which case I'd get the tape and I'd give it to Steve and the others then, or

Two: Vince got taken down in which case I'd get the tape and keep unless Steve woke up."

"Of course, our luck, both happened at the same time," Eric said.

Eddie gave him a look and continued. "Colette would decide who would hand deliver it to me, since there was too much of a risk in mailing something like this off, especially in the event that Vince was taken to jail. Kinda figured it would be you." Eddie told Al.

"Let's see the tape," Steve said voice thick with emotion.

Eddie nodded and popped the tape in and pressed play.

Mick Foley's face appeared on the big screen. He looked like he had in his last public appearance on the "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" a couple of years back, except a little thinner and a little withdrawn. He had the face of a man who knew what fate had in store for him and couldn't hold it at bay much longer. He was sitting in what I think was the Foley living room. Or at least I think it was. I was there for the wake a year ago.

"Hey guys," he said, or rather his videotaped image said on screen. "If you guys are watching this, then that means I'm dead, your not, and Steve's awake. Hopefully Vince is also in the deepest darkest jail they could find."

"Not quite yet," Shane McMahon said softly.

"Hopefully Al got Colette's instructions right and managed to find Eddie and didn't like stop by Debra, or Nancy's houses first. Hey! My possibly last Al Snow joke!"

"Hey!" Al said. "You promised!"

Mick went into a severe coughing fit then. Then turned back to the camera.

"Don't worry about this, it'll happen from time to time, and I'm dead anyways, so I'm no longer bothered by this anyways. And if Al's listening, I'm dead, which means I kept my promise of no more Al Snow jokes for as long as I lived.

"Thought it was as long as both of us lived," Al grumbled.

Anyways, I guess I should say some things, last words, that kind of thing. Shane, I'm sorry your Dad was such a sadistic bastard. Part of me wishes you never had to learn first hand how far he could take his evilness, while another is grateful that you didn't follow his lead and took more after Linda. If she isn't here, pass along my wishes for her to have a happy life beyond Vince. The woman certainly deserves it. Treat your kids better than Vince treated you and Stephanie."

"I will," Shane replied.

"Chris, Owen, I hope that you've been able to get back to your lives, and be with your families. Hopefully they, especially Bret and Ric know the truth. They deserve it. Chris I meant what I said when you were here. Danny takes after you more than perhaps any of us realize yet."

Dad, who had sat on one of the couches with me, gave me a quick, tight hug as Mick said that last part.

"Eddie, I wish you hadn't waited so long to tell me. Hopefully it didn't take years to finally take Vince down and that burden you've been carrying has been lifted from you.

"Somewhat," Uncle Eddie quietly said.

Mick took a bone - rattling breath then, the only real indication up until then that he was sick. "Steve."

"Mick," Steve spoke back to the videotape as if fighting the emotions within him.

"God, I hope you're seeing this. Of course part of me hopes that I get this tape done, then I get a call saying your awake, and I'll come and see ya again and this tape business won't be necessary. But something deep in my gut tells me that's not going to happen."

"I've missed you probably the most. Next to Al, you and Owen were probably the closest friends I had in this business and then Kemper happened. After Kemper, I don't think either of us were the same after that. Then you walked out and came back. I'd love to know the story behind that, but maybe God will tell me if I don't get a chance to hear it from you. Then you died, and I think more than anything, that's what permanently severed me from the business. The night you 'died,' I think any love I had for the business died forever as well."

"Oh Vince, tried to get me to come back. Tried to throw money, anything I wanted, any angle I wanted. But I refused. Wrestling was so different from, I'd say before Kemper, but I would guess it goes back a little deeper, to Brian's death I suppose. I didn't want to be apart of it anymore. And I guess I was a little suspicious of how convenient that the scaffold fell apart over the concrete, where it was likely to cause the most injury. Eddie's visit just sort of confirmed a lot of things that had been going around in my head for awhile now."

"We had some good times you and I. Don't be angry at Eddie or anybody else in this room. They did what they thought was best and maybe it was the only thing that could be done, given Vince's power."

"I'm hoping that Debra's with you. Hopefully she got the letter I sent her- "

"I read it," she said.

"Mick continued seemingly uninterrupted. "Hopefully you take some of the things I said to heart.

Mick coughed then. "I guess that's it. I wish I could see you guys one more time. Hopefully that'll still happen. Until then."

Suddenly a socked hand popped up on the screen. "Have a nice day!" The screen went dark.

Eddie popped the tape out. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Now, we just had to put Vince and crew away for good.

Okay, balls in your court now, Dana.


	96. Blowing Off Steam

Authors note: This was a combined effort by Jules and me. I originally wrote this part and Jules edited it and changed a little bit. Actually she had to retype it because I couldn't find the file. Anyway hope you like it. _Ducks and runs_

Blowing Off Steam

I needed to blow off some steam, though I know everybody back at the hotel will freak when they find out. The trial went a bit wrong yesterday. Somebody got to Michaels because he said something totally off as far as I know. We are worried about another potential hotel attack so Dad, Owen and Steve will be testifying beginning Monday. They were talking about Dad going first. Goldberg, the man who for years I thought killed my father, would also be testifying Monday.

I went to the Gold's Gym; I went there a couple of times in the past. There was a boxer's bag that I wanted to use. I went to it and started pounding it. I mentally plastered a picture of Vince McMahon on it.

"Whoa, take it easy on that bag. What did it do to you?" A voice said next to me.

I turned to see a man with gray hair standing there looking at me. He was muscular, but not huge or anything.

I was tempted to say it tried to kill my father, but I knew that wouldn't make sense. "Just trying to blow off some steam."

He stared at me. "Hey are you Benoit's kid?" I nodded. I worked in WCW with him. Never had any matches with him. Heck if you want another person to testify against Vince, I have plenty of things to say. I'm Larry Pfohl. I just thought of something. Come with me."

I followed him to the back of the gym. "I heard Michaels lying. I think I know somebody that might help you with that." He led me to an office of sorts. A man with black hair with gray at the temples was sitting behind a computer typing.

"Steve," Larry said getting the other man's attention. He looked up at me and then at Larry. "This is Daniel Benoit. Daniel Benoit, meet Steve Borden."

So this was Steve Borden. Maybe I'll find out before everybody else just what his involvement in this mess is?

Steve gave me a small smile. "I used to wrestle as Sting in UWF, NWA, WCW, WWA, and NWA - TNA." Now the name Sting WAS familiar to me. I have vague memories of Dad talking about finally getting a chance to wrestle him shortly before Steve Austin's 'death' at Survivor Series 2003. "Larry wrestled as Lex Luger in many of the same areas. I'm also testifying at Vince's trial. Me and Larry saw RAW that night. That's what finally convinced me to finally tell what I know about Vince's crimes. Somehow I wasn't shocked at what Shane McMahon had to say about his Dad.

He took two tapes out and stared at them for the longest time. One of them was a micro cassette tape and the other a videocassette that was clearly labeled SURVIVOR SERIES 2003. He sighed in the same manner my Uncle Eddy did. "I wrestled your dad at Survivor Series 2003. That show was one big nightmare. Your Dad was still favoring his left elbow, so I tried to avoid it though Hunter, who was booking that match, said to work it. So we did but I could tell he was in pain. Of course going in I was already suspicious of Vince plotting something. The match ended all right, and I jobbed. I knew Vince was readying your Dad for a title reign. Not my company but I was willing to help Chris."

The last part of what he said didn't surprise me. From what people have told me about that night, it sounded right. Steve had paused again and when he spoke again, his voice shook.

"Steve Austin knew about this tape," he said pointing at micro cassette tape. "I still remember coming home and hearing that message on the answering machine. It was the day after Brian died. If only I had heard that message right way, maybe I could have helped him. Poor Brian. He was a good guy. Some say it's why I seemed so brooding in this crow gimmick I did in the later years of my career. It was true to an extent. Bischoff set that angle up while I was in Japan without telling me. As far as I knew I was still in War Games. Then I get home and told they tried an Impostor Sting. Which later meant I'd have a lot of time off because my character was supposed to disappear for awhile. It was an interesting idea but I wouldn't have done it if I'd had a choice. The message I got from Brian made me feel guilty. I didn't tell anybody about it for the longest time."

"Then back in June of 2002, Steve Austin had stopped by the gym and was waiting to talk to me in this office. I'd slipped out for a few minutes to help with something. I forget what. When I came back, he was holding the tape. I looked at the label and it said 'Brian Pillman' and the date. He asked me what it was."

Borden ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't tell him anything. He got up and walked over to this tape player," he held up the old-fashioned micro cassette player, "and played it. He practically threw me up against a wall and demanded to know why I didn't tell anybody about it. I told him I honestly that I didn't know why I hadn't. He stormed out of the office with the tape. Next time he was here he had the tape and told me he'd walked out of the WWF. He gave it to me and told me if something happened to him, to do something with the tape. But I didn't. Part of me was scared after Steve's death that if I came forward, Vince would try to kill my family or me. But that's not excuse, and I know it."

"I left the sport completely after Survivor Series. I'd known that something had seemed wrong with that whole setup of the scaffold match. I even tried to talk Steve out of taking that particular match. Whether it was just his natural pride or if Steve was still mad at me for keeping the tape secret I don't know. He refused to listen to me. No matter how much Vince, Shane, Jarrett, Dustin, whoever tried to get me to come back, I refused. I knew Steve's death and later, your father's couldn't have been coincidences."

"I spent over 20 years living with guilt thinking that while I couldn't do anything to prevent Brian's death, that maybe I could've prevented others."

He tossed the tape on the desk. "Monday I'll do something about it."

As I got up to leave, Larry opened it. Bret Hart was standing there. "Danny, we've got to go."

"Bret, long time, no see."

"Steve," Bret said. He looked at the tape on the desk and snatched it up. "What is this?" he demanded.

"Bret......" Steve started to say.

"What is this Borden?" He put the tape in the player and pressed play.

"Steve," A scratchy voice said, "I'm in trouble Steve. I think Vince is going to kill me! I heard Helmsley and Hickenbottom talking about killing me! You got to help me Steve!" It cut off there.

I was feeling a little lightheaded. Maybe it was a combination of the shock of hearing somebody talk about his own impending death and the aftereffects of the injuries inflicted by the Kliq. If only Steve Borden had gotten the tape to the right people things may have turned out differently today.

Bret slammed him up against a wall much like I'd imagine Steve Austin had when he heard it.

"Why didn't you take it to the authorities!?" Bret practically shouted. "What happened to Austin, Chris, and my brother may never have happened! Nobody would've had to hide!"

I felt myself being caught by Larry Pfohl as I nearly slid to the floor in shock. Of all people I never imagined Bret Hart would slip up like that. You know I'm glad everything's about to come out in the open because this was getting bad.

"Hide? You mean they're alive?" Larry barely got out.

Bret let go of Steve as he realized his mistake. Yeah this day got screwed up fast.

Why did I go to the gym again?


	97. Preventable?

Okay notes for 97: I forgot to mention in 96 that this takes place a few weeks later. Also this chapter takes place at the same time as 96 and from Athena's POV.  
  
After I was dressed for the day I walked into the common room. Chris was pacing the room and looking like he was ready to explode. I wonder what's going on?  
  
"Athena do you know where Danny went?" Eddy asked. I hadn't even noticed him in the room. He looked as mad as Chris.  
  
"No." I said confused. "He's not on the floor?" I asked.  
  
"No." Chris was the one to answer. "He left without saying where he was going. He left before I was up. Eddy do you have any idea where Danny would have gone?" He had a pained expression on his face when he said that. It must be hard to realize you don't even know your son.  
  
"I'm not sure. What's around here? He was born and raised in Atlanta. He knows the town." Eddy said his temper still high. I wouldn't want to be in Danny's shoes when he comes back.  
  
I tried to remember what I've seen around here. There's a Starrbucks but I don't think he'd go there. There was a McDonald's but everyone was pretty much sick of Micky D's. So I don't think he went there. What else was there other then a few businesses?  
  
"What about Gold's Gym?" Oje asked. I hadn't even seen him enter the room.  
  
"That makes sense." Eddy said. "Bret..."  
  
"No problem. I'll go see if he's there." Uncle Bret was getting his jacket. "I'm sure he's fine Chris and you can yell at him when we get back." He left the room.  
  
Chris continued pacing he looked so angry but I can guess why. The last time Danny was alone he was beaten up in his own hotel room and this time we didn't know where he went. I wonder why he left in the first place.  
  
Megan had told me about Chris and Mrs. George arguing about Danny's safety. I also heard that they finalized their divorce. He probably just needs some time to himself.  
  
"Chris calm down." Michael said entering the room with Tammy. "I'm sure he's fine."  
  
"Do you really believe that Michael? The trial has been going almost two weeks. We don't have a clue what Vince's group has up their sleeve. We know they had the attack planned in advance. And Hickenbottom's been on this floor. We all worry that they'll be back. That's why we are having me testify Monday."  
  
Chris did have a point. Everyone was on edge after Shawn testified. Uncle Bret almost jumped out of his seat. He was the one who said: He's lying! But he didn't say it quite loud enough for the judge to hear. The judge had already rapped a couple of times for outbursts. She seemed to have reached the end of her patience. But hopefully she'll get used to it. The 'dead' witnesses haven't even testified yet. This was going to be an interesting week next week.  
  
I sat in the room playing cards with Megan and Oje. I tried to ignore the pacing and constant traffic of people in and out of the room. I looked at the clock. I wonder what's taking Uncle Bret?  
  
We all looked up as the door opened. Danny walked in looking really pale. He was followed by Uncle Bret who was dragging a man with graying black hair. Last through the door was a man with gray hair carrying a micro cassette player. I wonder what's going on and who these two guys are.  
  
"Larry? Steve?" Dad asked coming into the room. "What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"I still can't believe you three are alive." One of them answered. "And to answer your question your brother dragged Steve here and I came along." Okay I guess that means this guy is Larry.  
  
"Bret why did you bring them here?" Michael demanded. "I thought we decided not to bring anyone else up here."  
  
"Steve's got a tape I think everyone needs to hear." Uncle Bret said letting go of Steve who took something out of his pocket.  
  
"You son of a bitch!" We all looked Steve Austin charged across the room. "I told you that if anything happened to me to do something with that tape! You are just now doing something with it? Borden it's been fifteen years!"  
  
"I know Steve." Borden said running a hand through his hair. I now knew who this guy was. Sort of. I wonder what's going on here? What is that tape? Is that why Danny looks like he's about to pass out? Steve Borden continued. "I was afraid for my family and myself and then we all believe Chris was dead."  
  
"Back up!" Eddy said. "What's on the tape?"  
  
Uncle Bret took the tape from Borden and put it into the old answering machine they had brought and played it.  
  
"Steve," A scratchy voice said, "I'm in trouble Steve. I think Vince is going to kill me! I heard Helmsley and Hickenbottom talking about killing me! You got to help me Steve!" It cut off there.  
  
No wonder Danny looked so pale. I didn't know who was on the tape but I think I can guess what this tape meant. But was it Steve Borden's tape or Steve Austin's? What was going on here?  
  
"You had a tape of Brian Pillman saying they were going to kill him and you didn't do anything with it?" Chris looked like he was going to explode. I have heard Brian Pillman's name a few times and now I have a voice to go with the name.  
  
"Yeah I did. He left a message on my answering machine and I listened to it the day after he died. I couldn't have helped Brian but I still blamed myself for it. Steve came into the gym a couple of years later and found the tape and played it. He slammed me against the wall. He left with the tape. The next time he was here he had walked out of the WWF. He gave me back the tape and told me to do something with it if something ever happened to him. But I never did. I was worried would happen to me or my family. So I kept the tape locked away. The only other person who knew about the tape was Larry."  
  
"It could have been avoided." Mom said. She was standing in the doorway. "This could have been avoided if you had taken the tape to the authority." She had tears in her eyes. "How could you keep it?"  
  
"I'm sorry you are..." Steve Borden asked.  
  
"Martha Hart." Borden's eyes now showed confusion and then what could have been worry? I wasn't sure. "Owen's wife. How could you do this? Vince could have been stopped 21 years ago! Steve you've got family put yourself in Steve, Chris, or Owen's shoes. Think how they must feel to have to be kept from their families."  
  
s why didn't any of you do anything?" Obviously you knew something." Steve fired back.  
  
"We never had the concrete hard evidence like you have." Eddy said.  
  
"Steve maybe we should go..." Larry said trying to pull Borden out of the room.  
  
"Just a second Steve. I owe you something." Austin said walking up to them and punched Borden.  
  
Borden and Larry left without saying another word.  
  
I looked at mom who left the room. Dad followed her. Megan was staring at all of us. Danny still looked a bit dazed.  
  
"Danny we need to talk." Chris said and they both left the room. Eddy and Michael actually followed them.  
  
I was left in the room with Megan, Oje, and a very angry Austin. Austin didn't stay long though.  
  
This day certainly has been interesting and it's not even noon.  
  
y 


	98. Setting up a meeting

I knew I was in trouble when Uncle Eddy and Michael followed dad and I into our room. I took a seat on my bed. Dad, Uncle Eddy and Michael chose to stand. I braced myself for the yelling that I knew was coming. I should be used to being yelled at by now. It's happened enough times.  
  
"What is going on in your head Daniel?" Dad demanded right away.  
  
"I just needed to blow off some steam. Gold's Gym isn't that far away. I didn't know Steve Borden and Larry Pfohl owned the gym. I just wanted to work out with the boxing bag. That's all I had intended to do."  
  
"Did it ever cross your mind how stupid it was to wander around outside by yourself?" Michael asked me.  
  
"I was born and raised in this city. I know it really well."  
  
"That may be but weren't you paying attention when we were discussing beefing up security at the hotel for fear that Vince's group would strike back? How do you know someone wouldn't see you? Don't forget what happened in your room."  
  
"I haven't forgotten." Today had been the first day in a while that I felt better. It was now just a dull pain. Working out with the bag had felt great. I don't think they'd understand if I told them that. "I felt claustrophobic and needed to get out for awhile."  
  
"Danny you could have asked someone to go with you. You scared us when you left without telling us where you were going or left a note." Uncle Eddy said.  
  
"I know but I didn't think there would be anything wrong with that." Okay that was a lie. I knew everyone would be mad. But I wasn't going to admit that. I knew that would cause more problems.  
  
Dad shook his head. "That's the problem. You don't think." Okay now that hurt. I think he could see that hurt because then he said, "Look Danny we don't want anything to happen to you. It is very likely that they'll attack again. Shawn's already changed his story. Whether it was because of the conversation with Shane or they got to him. He knows what floor we are on. We need to be more careful."  
  
"I know that dad but I just needed to get out of the hotel for awhile. Nothing happened!" I reminded him.  
  
"But it very well could have." Uncle Eddy replied. "Just how did Steve Borden and Larry Pfohl know about your dad, Steve and Owen?"  
  
I don't know how they would react if they knew it had been Bret who had spilled the beans. "I wasn't the one that told them. I was about to leave when Bret came in and accidentally let it slip."  
  
"Bret?" Michael repeated. "I never thought he'd be the one to let something like that slip." Dad and Uncle Eddy nodded. "I'm just glad this trial is underway. This whole thing could blow up in our faces." He started to leave. "I'm going to talk to Jacobs about a change in security at the hotel and courthouse." He left the room.  
  
I was now left in the room with dad and Uncle Eddy and they still looked pissed. I tried to pay attention to them but my mind started wandering. It occurred to me that I knew most people's reasons for what they did except the ones who tried to kill. I couldn't talk to Vince, Stephanie and Hunter, because, well, they were in jail. I did know of someone I might be able to talk to. "Where's Bill Goldberg?"  
  
"I think he was released from prison a couple years ago." Dad said. "But we don't think he's a threat so don't worry."  
  
Okay that should make the next thing I say easier. "I want to talk to him."  
  
"You want to what?" Both of them yelled.  
  
"Danny maybe you did hurt your head. Why do you want to talk to Goldberg?" Uncle Eddy asked. "I didn't think those two could be any angrier then they were before.  
  
"I want to know why he almost killed my dad and why he didn't. I've learned from you guys that there's more to the picture. I need to know why."  
  
"This is insane!" Dad said. "I don't want you anywhere near Goldberg. He doesn't know for sure that I'm alive." He reminded me.  
  
"But I need to know! I could have agents with me to make sure he doesn't do anything." I was relieved when I saw Uncle Eddy nodding. At least he's on my side for this. I think.  
  
"I can't believe you are actually condoning this Eddy!" Dad said turning his attention to him. "What if he attacks him?"  
  
"I think it could be done. Don't get me wrong Chris I don't like this at all but if he did have agents with him and they met in a mutual spot he'd be okay. It's all going to come out Monday."  
  
"I have a really bad feeling about Monday." Dad said quietly. "I guess my opinion on this doesn't matter. But Eddy if anything happens to Danny..."  
  
"It's my hide." Eddy said as we watched dad leave. "I can't guarantee you anything Danny but I'll look into it." He left the room.  
  
Well, that went better then I thought it would. 


	99. Hell Freezes Over

Dedicated to the memory of Christopher Reeve 1952 - 2004.

This shouldn't be that long. Then we'll get things in high gear with 100. :-) - Juliet

Dana's comments Dana is too tired to do anything but type in 3rd person. Enjoy the chapter!

**Athena's POV**

I'm not exactly sure how I ended up getting into a car with Ric Flair, Tammy, and Eric Bischoff riding to Gold's Gym to confront Steve Borden over the tape I heard in the hotel room a couple of hours earlier. All I really remember was that Ric and Bischoff, came in, separately but at the same time, and were told about what happened earlier with Borden and Pfohl. Ric looked like he was quietly seething and Bischoff looked like he was about ready to outwardly explode. I think they both had a similar look of betrayal on their faces. Both resolved to confront Borden and Tammy wanted to go along and somewhere along that line it was decided that I should tag along as well.

So there I was, in a car with Tammy, and two men who hated each other but for once had a common ground about something. I heard Dad muttering something as we were leaving about Hell freezing over. I know Ric and Eric really don't like each other, but I guess agreeing about something was something nobody that knew them expected. Eric was the one who drove, with Tammy in the front while I sat in the back with Ric Flair. The atmosphere in the car was extremely tense.

We arrived at Gold's Gym at least fifteen minutes after we'd left the hotel room. I'm sure some speeding and breaking of traffic laws were involved in getting us there that fast. We followed Eric and Ric into Gold's Gym and right to a back room, were I presume was Steve Borden's office. The door was shut and locked so Ric knocked on it. That Larry guy answered it. Eric and Ric shoved past him and right towards Steve Borden.

"You lousy son of a BITCH!" Ric Flair roared, causing Larry to shut the door behind us. "How could you do this?! You knew Vince was a murderer for over 20 years and you did nothing?! NOTHING!?"

"Look Ric," Borden started to explain, "I - "

"NO!" Flair interrupted, "there is no 'look.' There is not explaining or talking your way out of this! That tape - " he pointed at the tape on Borden's desk. "Could've saved a lot of people a lot of pain. It could've allowed Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, and Owen Hart to see their children grow up. It could've saved Curt Hennig's life! And you kept it!"

Borden looked down at his feet. Then he turned and looked at Bischoff. "You have anything to say?"

"Yeah," he said, "you're an insensitive excuse for a human being."

Borden laughed. "Oh please, you - "

"IF YOU HAD HANDED OVER THAT TAPE IN 1997, I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO WATCH THE LIFE GO OUT IN BRET'S EYES AS I TOLD HIM HIS BROTHER DIED!" Bischoff shouted, startling all of us.

"You robbed a lot of people of their lives Steve." Tammy said quietly

"Look, I intended to tell the truth about the tape years ago, really, but then....... I didn't. I guess over the years the guilt just built up and I just.... Couldn't."

Ric shook his head. "That's the problem, Stinger. You didn't. In the process you threw away a lot of people's faith in you. I may not like the man, but at least Bischoff did something to help," Ric turned to leave and the rest of us followed.

Tammy looked back. "You know, just for the record: I wish there had been some way for you to be a man and for me to have still met my current husband. I agree with Ric; like him or not, at least Bischoff didn't stand on the sidelines doing nothing. He did something. You didn't. That makes him more of a man in my eyes than you'll ever be now."

And with that she shut the door and we left Gold's Gym. I don't think any of us will ever be back there again.

As we returned to the hotel, I saw Chris Benoit fuming and Eddie not far from it. Apparently something must be wrong with Danny's brain. Not only did Danny sneak out without telling anybody, but now he has the bright idea to see Goldberg! The guy not only ended my Uncle Bret's career, but he tried to kill Danny's father? Why would Danny want to see him? Of course to make matters worse Uncle Bret's starting to talk about seeing Goldberg himself. Has everybody gone nuts? That was just for Monday in addition to that tape Borden had coming out in court, and Danny's father testifying.

This was going to be one strange, terrifying week.

Okay onward to 100. :-D


	100. Two Meetings

What originally started out as Dana writing one POV and one meeting turned into a combined chapter by both of us writing two separate meetings with the same man. This will be in both Danny and Athena's POV. Enjoy - Juliet

Dana's comments Thanks to Harry and Jules for correcting me. I much appreciated it. 101 will be up real soon. 102 is in the looking for it stages.

**Danny's POV**

I stood there just looking in the window. It was just a plain old meeting room in a hotel that the FBI had gotten permission to use. And no it wasn't the Downtown Days Inn. Even though it had been my idea the thought of entering the room still made me nervous. This was a man who had been a part of a plot to kill my father even if he had changed sides. No matter how much I knew about the situation nothing will change that.  
  
I thought about a lot of things while standing there with my head around the doorknob. What would he say? Would he try to defend Vince? Would he try something? I don't know. But if I stayed here I would never know.  
  
The agents went in first. II took a deep breath and walked into the room. Uncle Ric went in after me. He said he had wanted to go along with me to make sure nothing happened. Uncle Eddy had thought of going but decided to make sure dad doesn't do anything crazy. Oddly, he looked more at dad then me when he said that.  
  
But my dad's final words before I left the hotel room were still ringing in my head. "If things start to look bad get out of there fast." Uncle Eddy had said about the same thing too.  
  
I looked at the man sitting there. He was staring at me. He looked different then he did in the video. The video showed a bald man but this man actually had hair on his head. The hair was very gray, as was his goatee.  
  
Goldberg seemed a bit shocked to see me. He knew I was coming didn't he? "You look just like him." His voice showed a tinge of I don't know regret? I know he's talking about dad. How do I respond to that anyway? But then again it's nothing I've been told before. "Never mind." He said before I could answer. "Eddy Guerrero said you wanted to talk to me." He looked at Ric and the agents. "I hadn't realized you were coming with others."  
  
I shrugged as I took a seat across from Goldberg. Uncle Ric sat next to me. The agents didn't stand too far away from us, which I was glad for. "Why?"  
  
He didn't seem surprised by the question. "Why I agreed to do it?" I nodded. "I was promised money and the world title and partial ownership of WCW when it was restarted. I was so stupid to believe that. When I got out of jail two and a half years ago he told me that he had originally given WCW to his son who then gave it to Dustin Runnels and there was nothing he could do about it. It turns out he kept the part he promised to me so he could take the company back."  
  
I wonder if Shane knew about this. I looked over at Uncle Ric who looked at surprised as I was. Vince had promised part of the company to Goldberg as part of the payment? I'd think that would have been discussed. But then again there are a lot of things they don't talk about. And it did explain how Vince still owned a part of the company. "Why did you not do it?" That was almost the obvious next question. Why would a man who said he was offered money, the world title and part ownership of WCW not do it? Not that I'm not glad he didn't. I certainly wouldn't be in this room having this conversation if he hadn't.  
  
He didn't look at me when he spoke next. "To be honest I didn't really want to kill anyone and then of course there was the shorter prison sentence. Unlike the Helmsleys and Vince McMahon I had qualms about killing your father. But it took a little blackmail on their part I suppose. Not that it's important to what I'm telling you." He said quickly obviously wanting to change the subject. I wonder if he's talking about what he did to Bret Hart? "So the offer given to me by the FBI sounded good. But what I never understood is why Eddy didn't want to keep your father from this. I never really knew either of them but I did know they were friends." He had a slight glimmer in his eyes as he continued.  
  
"What blackmail?" Uncle Ric asked. He hadn't really said anything until now.  
  
He sighed. "Starrcade 99." I was curious. I looked at Uncle Ric who nodded as if he knew what Goldberg was talking about.  
  
"What about Starrcade 99?" I asked.  
  
"Let me start before that." Goldberg said looking at me for a brief second before continuing. "I was mad at what direction WCW was going and I don't think it was a surprise to anyone. Bischoff had me lose to Nash and had me arrested in a story line at the Georgia Dome. I guess Vince heard about it because he called me and asked if I would meet him at Bacchanalia." I know that restaurant. I have never eaten there. It's one of the most expensive restaurants in Atlanta. "I was curious on why he would want to meet me. I still had a contract with WCW. Though at that point I did want out of it. But then again who didn't?" He asked looking at Ric.  
  
"That company was bad." Ric agreed.  
  
"We talked about nothing really significant at first then he asked me if I would like to get back to WCW for what they have been doing to my career. I was more then curious at that point. So I asked him to go on. He wanted me to take Bret Hart out of the sport. I didn't have any friends in wrestling and to be honest I always hated the sport so he could have asked me to take out Hulk Hogan and I would have cared less. So I agreed to it. Ended up injuring my arm. But the work was done. Bret received three concussions and an injury to his neck. Vince did pay me money for doing this. It would later come back to haunt me."  
  
I sat back trying to let this sink in. So everyone was right. Vince had used Goldberg to end Bret's career.  
  
"I did feel guilty when Bret had a stroke. I mean I had no idea I had hurt him so badly. Vince really hated Bret. But it was Hunter that hated your father. With Vince it didn't really surprise me that he had wanted to kill Shane. He was a hateful man. No one screwed him and got away with it. I guess not even his family. His daughter and son-in-law were real pieces of work too. I ran into them at a Toy Fair back in 2000 and we almost got into a fight. I can't remember what it was about now, though I started it. Been way too long. If you see Bret some time tell him I'm sorry. He probably wouldn't believe me but I am. I just wish I could tell your dad that Daniel."  
  
"I should have been charged with the murder of WCW." He said with a sad smile. "WCW's PPV Starrcade 99 should have been called Night of Injuries. Starrcade pretty much was setting up Souled Out which was the next PPV. But in the ladder match at Starrcade Chris' nose was broken and Jarrett suffered a concussion. Then Bret suffered three concussions and a neck injury. But he wrestled for awhile after that before he knew something was wrong so I guess it wasn't totally my fault. But I did hurt my arm in that match with one of the moves that gave Bret his concussion. Because Jarrett and Bret were injured they had to be dropped from the card. Russo had this idea that Tank Abbott should be world champ and he got fired. Then Sullivan replaced him and decided Chris would beat Sid for the title and then lose it to me three months later. Almost the same thing that happened four years later. But when Guerrero, Benoit, Malenko, and Saturn walked out it killed the company. It was my fault."  
  
He had a far away look on his face. "I had no intention of staying in the United States to wrestle after WCW was bought by WWF. I was invited to wrestle in Japan. That country pays their wrestlers well. Then Vince called me with a very good contract and I agreed. Then I was asked almost a year later to kill your father by Helmsley. Helmsley told me he'd tell everyone I injured Bret on purpose if I didn't agree with it so I said okay."  
  
I realized that I didn't know what to say to Goldberg. He wasn't denying anything. Yet he certainly didn't sound very proud of it. It was interesting to find out now that the man had a conscience. Didn't think any of Vince's 'hitmen' had any. But that did explain why he agreed not to do it. Even if it was partly because he'd get a shorter jail sentence. I never would have guessed.  
  
I looked at the two agents standing there. Their facial expressions showed no emotions. One was watching Goldberg while the other was keeping an eye  
on the door. I was glad they and Uncle Ric were here. I don't know if I could handle being in the same room with Goldberg without them.  
  
"Was the world title really that important to you?" I couldn't help but ask him. It kind of reminded me of what dad and Uncle Ric had said that day at the cabin. They said the title was important to Hunter.  
  
"No. It was important to Hunter and I think he thought marrying Stephanie McMahon he would automatically be champ. I don't know maybe that's why they got rid of Austin." He looked like he hadn't meant to say that but I guess because we weren't shocked he continued. "and I kinda suspected when he asked me to take Bret out that he might had something to do with what happened to Owen, but I had no proof. Anyway he was outraged when he found out your father was slated to get the win over Jeff Jarrett and win the world title. I don't know all of the details and this is just my speculation. He was outraged when he found out that the main event at Bad Blood wouldn't be him Vs Chris Benoit for the world title. And Stephanie was still angry that Vince got brand new writers. They came to ask if I would break your father's neck killing him. I agreed to do it and like I said I didn't like the idea. Then Eddy and that cop Erichson talked to me about only making it look like I killed Chris. I agreed to that. I have no idea if I did it right. He wasn't moving when I got up. I was arrested before I could find out. Your mother was at the trial staring at me accusingly. Rightfully so. I think she would have slapped me if she could. Ric you were there too." He said looking at Uncle Ric.  
  
Uncle Ric nodded. "I wanted to make sure you were put away for good. I couldn't believe you had only gotten 15 years."  
  
"I was glad that's all I got. But I still don't understand why if they knew what was planned for Chris why they didn't just turn Vince in. Would have saved Matt Hardy and numerous others."  
  
I'd have to agree with him there. They all did have some round about way of getting things done. But I did understand now why they did what they did. But sometimes I wonder myself.  
  
"I'm glad Vince, Shawn, Hunter, Stephanie, Waltman, Nash, and Jeff Hardy are all getting what they deserve. I'll be at the trial Monday testifying against them. I'm more then happy to do that. What they did was wrong. I'm not proud of what I almost did and I'm not much better then they are but I'm glad they are finally getting what they deserve."  
  
"Mr. Benoit?" Someone asked coming into the room. "I was just asked to tell you that it's time to go."  
  
I looked at my watch. Wow she was right. I thanked Bill and left the room. I looked back at Uncle Ric who was standing in the doorway looking at Goldberg. Uncle Ric started to follow me but Goldberg stopped him.  
  
"Ric let Bret know I want to see him."  
  
"I will."  
  
It was a quiet ride back to the hotel. Ric told Bret that Goldberg wanted to see him. An hour later Bret left with Athena and Uncle Eddy to meet for his own meeting with Goldberg.

**Athena's POV**

I was extremely nervous riding over to this other hotel with Uncle Bret and Eddy Guerrero. We'd finally talked Uncle Bret out of meeting with Goldberg when out of the blue Ric Flair comes back from his and Danny's meeting with Goldberg with the news that Goldberg wanted to see him. There was some other stuff said between the two men and Uncle Bret looked furious. I'm not sure meeting the man that ended his career was the right idea.

We reached a small conference room in the hotel where possibly Danny and Ric Flair met Goldberg earlier. There was extreme tension outside the room. Uncle Bret looked like he wanted to rip the door off it's hinges. He took a deep breath and us and two agents went in.

The man in front of me was nothing like what had been described to me. He had gray hair instead of a bald head and a gray goatee. He looked nervous and regretful. Could somebody who had done Vince McMahon's dirty work look that way?

"Bret" the man said in a gravely voice. "Eddie, been a long time since I've seen you."

"Bill," Uncle Bret said in a barely contained voice.

"Who's she?" Goldberg asked in a tone that made me feel creeped out.

"My niece," Uncle Bret tossed out tersely, stepping in front of me, as if to protect me from a possible attack by the man.

"Relax Bret, I wasn't going to hurt her. I just wanted to know who she was, that's all," Goldberg said, sitting down.

"Flair tell you I wanted to see you?" Goldberg asked.

"Yes," my uncle replied. "He also told me about a few other things as well."

"Not surprised," Goldberg said. "Ric was probably one of the more honest men in the sport."

"Why?" Uncle Bret asked.

"I wanted out," Goldberg explained. "Like everybody else did at that time. Vince offered me a very lucrative sum to take you out and I took it. There were at least half a dozen others that would've taken Vince's offer at that time. He just got to me first."

"Why just the concussions?" Eddy spoke up, "why not just 'accidentally' kill Bret outright. If money was all you wanted surely Vince would've given you that much more for Bret's death."

"For the same reason I agreed to try and avoid killing Benoit in the first place," Goldberg spat out. "I have no problem ending somebody's career. Taking somebody's life, that's another issue. Tell me something Guerrero, and honestly answer this. Is Benoit alive? Did he survive the powerbomb? Trust me, it won't get back to Vince."

Eddy nodded. "Yeah he survived the powerbomb."

Goldberg nodded back. There seemed to be a relief in his posture. "I spent almost fifteen years wondering whether I did it enough to make it look real keep Chris alive. At least I know now. Anyways Vince probably would've been happy to see me cause enough damage to kill you Bret. But I couldn't go that far. I knew I could do just enough to cause you serious injury and still keep ya alive. I also had a feeling if I turned Vince down, he'd offer somebody else the job, and that person would have no qualms about 'accidentally' killing you. I suspected Vince played a hand in that stunt that killed Owen. Just the bastard's manner. But I didn't have any concrete evidence or anything. Like I said there were at least half a dozen of us by that time that wanted out and each of us would've probably have jumped at the chance to do it. I just came up to the plate first."

"As for Chris, Triple H hated me from the Toy Fair incident in 2000. Son of a Bitch probably thought it would take out two of the people he hated in one stroke if he got me to kill Benoit. He was wasn't completely wrong."

"Russo was there by the way. I guess Russo really was sent by Vince to destroy WCW inside out."

"Figures," muttered Uncle Bret. "One last thing: Why ask for me?"

"To apologize Bret," Goldberg answered. "Sincerely and totally. At that time I just wanted out so I had no second thoughts about doing it. If I'd known then what I know now, the stroke, that it would be used against me later, I probably wouldn't have done it. I wasn't thinking about any of the possible consequences at the time. I just did it. I know my word will probably mean shit to you, but for what it's worth, I am truly sorry."

I'm sure when we left none of us were completely sure what to make of the meeting. Was Goldberg sincere in his apology? Who knows?

Monday's going to be interesting.

Okay on to the next part :-D


	101. Don't You Just Hate Mondays

Notes: It should be noted I don't know what the Atlanta Georgia courthouse looks like but this is what most courthouses I've seen look like. Oh and things start to get um weird? I don't want to spoil it.

I was sitting outside of the courthouse on the stone part at the top of the stairs. It was a nice day out and the trial didn't start for another half-hour. Dad had already been ushered in to the courthouse way early this morning. Something really seemed to be bothering him yesterday after I came back from talking to Goldberg but he wouldn't say what it was. If it was about me seeing Goldberg I'm sure he would have said something.

I came with Bret and Athena. They were in the courthouse but I was more interested in watching people. Right now I was watching Linda meet her grandchildren for the first time. It was a nice happy little meeting it looked. Andi and Wes took to her right away and vice versa. I looked at my watch and decided maybe I should go in. I was just about to when I caught sight of someone who definitely shouldn't be there. I jumped off my perch and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded. He looked scared for a moment.

"Let go!" He squirmed.

"Trevor mom is going to kill me if she finds out you are here. What are you doing here?" I repeated. Just what I need right now. My kid brother at the trial. And I know my mother wouldn't be happy.

"Wanted to see the trial. Mom said I couldn't. And dad agreed."

"There's a reason why they don't want you here Trev."

"But you are here!"

"Because it's about my father."

"Please let me stay Danny. I'll sit in the back and won't make a sound. Please?"

I probably should have told him no but I had to get inside. "Come on but if mom asks I didn't see you." Of all the days he wants to come to the trial he picks the one where dad's going to testify.

As I was entering the courtroom Eddy stopped me. Trevor was trying to not be noticed I think. "Danny your dad doesn't want you in here during this."

"Eddy I already know what happened."

"Kid you don't know the whole story. He said he'd tell all of you later. Just go home. Take your brother back to school and go home. I called your mother." Damn he saw Trevor.

"Eddy..."

"Damn it Danny would you leave already?" I was gone. Not dealing with this again.

I practically had to drag Trevor out the door. He kept protesting the whole way out of the courthouse. I tried to ignore him. I was thinking about what bus would get us to his school the fastest when someone yelled "Hey Danny!" just as I was about to step off the curb. I turned around it was a stupid reporter.

"No comment." Which had become my standard reply now and days. I heard a loud thump and screeching of tires. I was surprised when I saw Trevor wasn't next to me. I just stood there stunned.

After the shock wore off I tried to see what was going on. But everyone was standing in my way. I pushed through and Uncle Eddy turned to look at me. "Danny stay back!" I refused to move. I couldn't take my eyes off what was in front of me. Eddy looked at someone behind me. "Damn it get him out of here!"

Someone pulled me away. "Let me go! I want to see Trevor!" I struggled to get loose. He just held me tighter. Oh God let Trevor still be alive. I thought closing my eyes. I suddenly felt four years old again.

"He'll be okay." Uncle Dean said quietly.

Flashbulbs were going off like crazy. Uncle Dean and Uncle Eddy must have been watching from the courthouse. Then a thought struck me.

If that reporter hadn't stopped me, that would be me.

The ambulance had let me ride with Trevor. It looked like his leg was broken I couldn't really tell. The medic kept telling Trevor he was going to be fine. Maybe they are supposed to say that. We were at the same hospital that I went to when I was attacked.

I was sitting in the waiting room when my mother came. She hadn't seen me as she started talking to the nurse at the emergency room desk. The nurse pointed in my direction.

Mom walked up to me. "What happened?" She asked sitting down next to me. She was shaking which I guess was understandable since she just found out her son was hit by a car.

"I was about to walk Trevor back to school. A reporter stopped me. When I turned back around people were surrounding Trevor. A car had hit him. Uncle Eddy and Uncle Dean wouldn't let me near him. And I haven't heard anything since we got to the hospital."

"I told him not to go to the court house but he didn't listen to me." Mom said standing up and started to pace. "Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" That's a question I bet mom's been asking herself for a while now.

"Trevor George?" A voice said. We looked up to see a female doctor walking standing there.

"I'm Nancy George his mother. How is he?"

"He broke his leg and has a slight concussion but he'll be fine. We'd like to keep him for observation a few days though."

"Can we see him?" Mom asked.

"Sure. He's in room 925." She walked away.

I followed mom to the elevator. She started talking when we were in it. "I'm going to go in first. Why don't you call Jason and tell him how your brother is. He couldn't get off of work."

I dialed Jason's number but he was in a meeting. I left a message with his secretary and went back to the hospital room. I stood there watching mom and Trevor talk. Why did today have to go so wrong?


	102. First Strike

I was sitting with everyone waiting for the trial to start. I looked at my watch. There was still five minutes until the trial started. The jury was already in their box.  
  
"Hey." We looked up to see Chavo leaning over. "Where's Eddy?" We all looked around. That was a good question. Where was Eddy?  
  
"He's probably with the DA." Uncle Bret answered.  
  
I looked over at the table where Helmsley, Vince and Stephanie were sitting with their attorneys. They all looked so smug. I can't wait to see their faces when they see Chris. They won't be so smug then.  
  
Michael walked up to us. "You guys know who Trevor George is?" I started to shake my head but stopped. That name sounded familiar. Maybe it was Danny's step-father or brother. Michael continued. "He's Danny's brother. He was just hit by a car. Danny went with him to the hospital. Eddy will be in here in a few minutes."  
  
Oh poor Danny and his brother. I hadn't even seen Danny since we arrived. He said he wanted to sit outside for awhile.  
  
Eddy sat down next to us for a second and said in a very quiet voice, "What you hear today don't talk about it with Danny. It's going to be explained to him and his family later." It must be something big if they don't want Danny to know. I wonder what it is. Eddy got up, walked over, and sat at the table with the DA.  
  
Judge Arspringer came into the room. "Your next witness Mr. Olson." She said once we were all seated.  
  
"Thank you. We would like to call for our next witness Chris Benoit."  
  
"WHAT!" Seemed to be the yell in the courtroom.  
  
The judges hit her gavel several times. "Order! Show Mr. Benoit into the room." She said.  
  
We all watched as Chris entered the room. I looked at the Defense table. Both Hunter and Vince were on their feet. "You are dead! You are supposed to be dead!" Hunter yelled. Cops and agents immediately got in front of Hunter and Vince. Chris was led to the front of the courtroom. The room was pure pandemonium.  
  
Judge Arspringer tapped her gavel several times. Hunter was really trying to get through the police. I was kind of being pushed to the back of the courtroom. "Order!" She yelled. No one was listening. "This trial is at recess for 30 minutes. Everyone but the attorneys are to leave the room!"  
  
Since I was almost at the back of the room it didn't take me long to get out of it. I did see them lead Chris out one door and Triple H and Vince through another. This was bad.  
  
I lost sight of everyone so I went to get a drink of water. There were reporters trying to swarm around everyone. But I was able to get away before they saw me. I found the drinking fountain and took a drink.  
  
I was about to walk to the others when I suddenly noticed Michaels and two other guys also there. I recognized one of them as one of the people who ran down the stairs after they beat Danny up. They didnt' noticce me so I leaned against the wall out of site.  
  
"Hunter blew it." The guy from the hotel said. "He almost attacked Benoit right in the courtroom. We've got to do something."  
  
"But what?" Michaels asked. "You, Peter, and Joanie already attacked Benoit's kid. What else can we do?"  
  
"That's it!" The really tall man said. "We go after the kid. You heard them say he went with his brother to the hospital. No one will be there. He'll be an easy target. Then they'll know to stop messing with us."  
  
They walke away. They never saw me. As soon as they were out of site I ran back to the courtroom looking for the others. I found Chavo. "Where's Eddy?" I asked.  
  
"I'm not really sure. I think he's with Chris somewhere. Why?" He asked suspiciously.  
  
just overheard Shawn Michaels and two others talking about going after Danny at the hospital."  
  
"Shit! Come on!" He said hurrying down the hall. We found Eddy, Chris and Michael standing there. I saw agents keeping the reporters away. "We've got a problem." Chavo said.  
  
"What?" Eddy asked.  
  
"Athena overheard Michaels and two others saying they were going after Danny at the hospital." Chavo explained.  
  
Chris turned bright red. He looked like he was going to explode. He started to run.  
  
Michael grabbed him by the arm. "Chris you can't just go running off. The trial..."  
  



	103. On The Floor

Notes: This takes place during 102. So 101-103 overlap each other.  
  
I stepped out of the hospital room planning to use the bathroom and get a cup of coffee. I saw a young man standing there looking anxious. "Hey!" He said coming up to me. "You are that kid's brother right?"  
  
"Yeah..." I said.  
  
"I'm the one that hit him. I am so sorry! I just got my license Saturday and totally didn't see him! I wanted to apologize. He's okay isn't he?"  
  
"He's okay." I was really relieved that it was a sixteen year old and not one of Vince's men trying to hit me. Why am I so paranoid? It was a total accident. Nothing to be so worried about. I mean they are at the trial and I'm at a hospital about 20 minutes from there.  
  
I walked past the guy and headed to the bathroom. I had just finished using it when I heard the door open and close. I didn't look up to see who it was. Suddenly I heard a click.  
  
Strange I thought. Must be a stall door. I turned around to head for the sink and came face to face with Nash, Waltman and Michaels. I now knew what the click was. Shit!  
  
They were standing there blocking the door so I couldn't leave. And pushing past them wasn't an option not because they were bigger then me but because Nash had a gun pointed at me. Yelling for help would get me shot before anyone helped me. I was really screwed.  
  
"You've become a real problem Danny boy and we always get rid of problems." He cocked back the gun. I closed my eyes.  
  
Boom!  
  
I hit the floor.  
  
Bang! The gun went off.  
  
I looked up to see Nash and my dad wrestling over the gun. Michaels and Waltman just stood there. I looked back and saw that right behind me there was a broken window.  
  
I got off the floor and saw my dad get the gun from Nash just as security came running through. I watched as they handcuffed Nash, Waltman and Michaels and took them out of the room.  
  
"You okay?" Dad asked as we walked out of the room.  
  
I was shaking so hard I could barely say yeah.  
  
Dad instructed me to sit in one of the waiting room chairs. I did gladly.  
  
"What's going on?" My mother demanded as she walked up to us. "I heard a gun go off and came out to see what it was. Then I saw Nash, Waltman, and Hickenbottom being led out of the bathroom in handcuffs and then the two of you leaving. What happened?"  
  
"Nash almost shot Danny." Dad said quietly.  
  
Mom looked like she was going to explode. "Just what was your going in hiding supposed to do again? Because since you came back Danny's been kidnapped, attacked in his hotel room, and now almost shot. Just why did you fake your death again."  
  
"I've been wondering that myself." Dad said quietly.  
  
"Just who's bright idea was it to get Danny involved in this?" Mom asked.  
  
Speak of the devil I thought as I saw Bischoff walking our way. I looked at him and so did dad.  
  
"You are the one who got Danny involved in this?" Mom yelled coming up to Eric and punched him hard without waiting for an answer.  
  
"Yeah. I did. I felt like he should know so Vince would drop it. I wouldn't have had to if you had just told him what happened."  
  
Boom Bischoff on the floor again. "Don't you dare blame me for this! I did the best I could for my family. I protected them from a sport I thought had killed his father."  
  
Bischoff looked to dad but dad looked about as pissed as Mom did.  
  
"Nancy honey Trevor can hear you." We looked up to see Jason coming up to us. I didn't know he was here. "Maybe you guys should take it somewhere else?"  
  
"No, I'm finished." She said walking away.  
  
"Jeez Chris and I thought Danny got his punch from you. I guess I was wrong. Here Shane thought you might want his cell phone." He handed it to dad. "I came to see if you needed help but you obviously don't so I'll leave." He left.  
  
"It's going to be okay Danny." Dad said to me.  
  
I just sat there. Somehow it really didn't feel like it ever would. 


	104. Stroll Down Memory Lane

I was still a little shaken from almost being shot. Thank goodness my dad came when he did. I sat in one of the waiting room chairs watching as my father made a call on Shane's cellphone. I wonder whom he's calling.

Dad sounded really frustrated. "Eddy this has to stop. I don't think you realize how close Daniel came to being shot. If I hadn't opened the door when I did...yeah they were arrested. Don't remind me. Not today Eddy. I'm going to see if I can take him to Nancy's. He's pretty shaken up. Wouldn't you be? Yeah probably tomorrow. Right now I want to make sure Daniel's okay. Okay put him on. You are? Good. I don't want them to be in some kind of danger. Nancy's. Yeah call me back later. I have Shane's cell. Bye." He turned towards me he suddenly looked old. "I'm going to ask your mother about taking you to her house. I don't think going back to the hotel is such a good idea."

I followed him into Trevor's room. Mom and Jason were sitting on either side of the bed. They looked up when we entered. Both mom and Jason glared at dad. Trevor had a sort of a wide-eyed expression on his face like he knew what was going to happen and was excited.

"Nancy." I could tell dad was nervous. "First I want to tell you Michael Erichson, a FBI agent, is having security beefed up here."

"Good." Mom's voice was icy.

"Second would you mind if I take Daniel to your house? The hotel is going to be swamped with reporters."

"And can dad stay there for that reason?" Three faces all seemed to ask if I was crazy. Don't get me wrong. I've already given up on the idea that my parents are going to get back together.

"Well," mom said. "We were planning to stay with Trevor tonight and all considered Daniel being alone might not be a good idea." She sighed. "Chris if you want to you can stay in the guest room."

"Nancy..." Jason started to say.

"There's no real point in arguing the issue Jason. I'd feel better if someone was with Daniel. And I don't have the time to call Ted or David."

Great it's not like I'm eighteen years old or anything. But I didn't say that. I knew my mom was just trying to look out for me. After all I did almost get shot.

Jason just sighed. "I guess my opinion doesn't matter in this. Fine if it would be easier on everyone then I guess it's okay." I guess this must be hard for him seeing mom's ex-husband.

"Also Danny will have a bodyguard with him at all times starting tomorrow. I think it would be for the best if he did." Dad continued. "Thanks for letting us stay at your house Nancy." He said walking out of the hospital room. I followed dad outside of the room.

We took a cab to my mother's house. Dad stopped outside of the house and just stared. "You didn't move."

"Mom and Jason decided Jason's house wasn't big enough. And I think they said I've had enough changes in my life." It was true. I had overheard them say that one time.

Dad followed me into the house. He stood there for the longest time just looking around the house. I wonder how long he'll stand there in the doorway? "It's okay to actually go in dad." Man my voice is still shaking.

Dad chuckled. "I never thought I'd be back here. Not after being in hiding for fourteen years."

"You can sleep in Tatem's old room." I said. "If you don't mind it having a few toys. It's used as a guestroom/Misha's room when she spends the night." I turned to see dad staring at the wall of pictures.

"She has pictures of Megan and David and David's kids." He said touching one of David and Sally's wedding.

Mom said they were still family to her." He nodded continuing to look at the pictures. "Mom has a box of your stuff still in the attic. I'll go get it." I decided dad probably needed a few minutes to himself.

I headed up to the attic and to the corner where mom kept dad's boxes. They were gone. Now I remember what mom said the day of the infamous reunion. Dad's stuff had disappeared from the attic. I looked around hoping to find something of dad's. They couldn't have taken everything!

I found a box that had been shoved really far into a corner out of sight. I had never seen this box before. It had dad's name on it. I carried it downstairs and was almost afraid I'd drop it.

I put it down in front of dad. "I forgot some of it disappeared. I found this shoved into a corner."

Dad opened it and let out a gasp. I thought maybe it was from whoever had taken dad's stuff. But dad smiled as he took out a pair of what looked like really old wrestling boots. "These were Tommy Billington's wrestling boots. He wrestled as the Dynamite Kid. Eddy told me that he had died about five years ago. He gave me these years ago." He wiped away a tear. "He was my inspiration growing up. When I was thirteen I knocked on his dressing room door, showed him my muscles and said: my name is Chris Benoit and when I grow up I'm going to be a wrestler just like you. I wish I had been able to go his funeral."

Dad put the boots down and continued sifting through the box. His hands literally shook, even harder then mine still were, as he pulled something out of the box. I had seen it in pictures and videos enough times to know what it is. It was the old WWE world title.

"I've had this title twice. Once in WCW for twenty-four hours and then in WWF for five months. I'm surprised your mother kept it.

So was I. I saw pain in dad's eyes as he set it aside. He pulled out a couple of VHS tapes and set them aside.

The phone started to ring. I picked it up figuring it was mom checking up on me. "Hello?"

"Danny?" Oh boy that's definitely not my mother. "Is that you?"

"Yeah. Hi Aunt Laurie." Aunt Laurie is my dad's younger sister. She lives in Edmonton.

"I just saw your father on the news. And it was followed by announcement that you were almost shot in a hospital. What's going on Danny?"

I covered the mouthpiece. "You want to talk to her?" I whispered to dad.

He nodded with tears in his eyes. I handed him the phone. "Hi Laurie."

I walked out of the room to give them privacy. I guess one good thing came out of today. But I couldn't help but think I really should call Levi. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I didn't want to deal with it. I don't want to deal with the fact that Trevor was hit by a car, that my brother Levi still doesn't know, or the fact that just an hour ago I was almost shot.

I want to find a hole and crawl in it and not come out.


	105. Early Morning Phone Calls and Visits

I picked up my mom's phone as it rang early in the morning. Mom and Jason were staying with Trevor at the hospital (which has beefed up security), while me and Dad were staying at Mom's figuring it would just be easier staying there than potentially braving all the reporters back to the hotel. Who the hell could be calling Mom at 6 am in the morning? If it was a reporter I was hanging up on the guy before he got another word out.  
  
"Hello?" I asked groggy from waking up to the phone ringing in my ear.  
  
"Is Chris Benoit there?" a male voice asked gruffly.  
  
"Good - bye," I said figuring it _was _a reporter.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute Junior," the guy said.  
  
_Junior? _  
  
"You Danny Benoit?" the guy asked, sounding a bit more familiar to me though at the moment I couldn't figure why.  
  
"Yeah?" I said suspiciously.  
  
"If your Dad is there tell him Mongoose McQueen, is calling for Mr. Roboto. Your Dad will get it."   
  
Sighing, confused and curious, I rolled out of bed and brought the cordless with me to the guest bedroom. I knocked on the door. Dad opened it a little bleary eyed himself when he opened the door.  
  
"Yeah?" Dad said.  
  
"Somebody on the phone said to tell you that Moongoose McQueen is calling for a Mr. Roboto? Said you'd get it."  
  
Dad looked half way between pissed off and annoyed when I told him that.  
  
"Shit, I thought Eddy said he was on some world tour or something," he said.  
  
He took the phone out of my hands quickly, "and I thought I told you never to call me that Jerky?"  
  
I heard a bitter snort on the phone quickly heading into Mom's room I picked up her phone quietly.  
  
"Yeah well, I never thought I'd get the chance to call you that again," the guy my dad labeled Jerky said. "So imagine my surprise when I get into my hotel room in Tokyo, look at a paper and see your face staring back at me with the headline saying **'Presumed dead wrestler testifies at Vince McMahon murder trial.' **I know with the tour and everything I've been out of it, but I didn't think I was THAT out of it."   
  
"Yeah well, like Vince said once Irvine 'shit happens'   
  
Okay now the connections are made. Chris Irvine a.k.a. Chris Jericho another Canadian and a guy who bounced between being my dad's adversary and tag team partner in WWF before Dad's 'death' He like others left wrestling completely after Dad's 'death,' choosing to devote himself to his music and band Fozzy.  
  
He came around occasionally after Dad 'died' Not as often as Uncles, Dean, Arn, Perry and Ric, but more often than Shane Douglas. I had heard from Mom a couple months ago that Fozzy had embarked on this massive world tour beginning in Asia.  
  
"Yeah well shit isn't supposed to happen THAT fast. At least not without me." Irvine said sardonically.  
  
"Ego getting the best of you Jerky?" My dad replied.  
  
There was a growl on the other end of the phone. "So are you going to tell me just what the fuck your doing back from the dead or do I have to go through the expensive cost of getting a ticket to Atlanta to get it out of you?" Irvine asked.  
  
I imagined my dad had grimaced at that last. "Not exactly the best time for that," That's an understatement. The guy probably didn't know about Owen or Steve yet. It's probably a shock to see a guy you thought was dead on the front page of a newspaper.  
  
"Understatement of the year Ben - oyt," Jericho said with another joke that I probably didn't understand. "Next you'll be saying that Owen Hart and Steve Austin are alive." He finished laughing.  
  
There was a silence after that.  
  
I hung up the phone quietly. I pretty much knew what would be coming next. I also figured I'd be seeing Chris Irvine face to face for the first time in a couple of years quiet soon. As I went back to the living room, I heard a knock on the door. I went to the door, hoping Dad and Chris wouldn't be done anytime soon. I looked through the peephole and opened the door shocked at who was on the other side.

"Uncle Rey!" I exclaimed.

"Hey Daniel," Rey Mysterio Jr, said. "Look I was wondering - " at that moment my Dad came back into the room looking somewhat pissed off and annoyed.

"Well, Jericho's on his way here - " Dad trailed off at seeing Rey.

"Rey," he said.

"Well, I don't have to ask Danny where you are." He said. "So who do I have to blame for this one?"

I chose that moment to go back to my room and call Eddy to let him know some Uncle Rey was here and that Chris Irvine was on his way to the states.


	106. Throwing it Out?

I decided there was no way I was going to sleep now after a six AM phone call from Chris Jericho and also a visit from Rey Mysterio, Jr. I was too wired up so I took a quick shower and changed into the clothes I had worn the day before.  
  
The phone rang. I wonder who's on the phone this time? Last night it was Aunt Laurie today it was Jericho. "Hello?"  
  
"Danny it's me." It was Uncle Eddy. "I need you and your father to get to the courtroom as soon as possible."  
  
"Why? What's going on?" This couldn't be good. Eddy really sounded anxious.  
  
"The judge is talking about throwing out the trial. There have been a lot of complaints filed. I think it would be best if you two are down here. So get here as fast as you can."  
  
"I'll let dad know." I hung up with him. This really was bad. What would happen if the judge did throw out the trial? What would we do? I walked into the living room and found dad and Uncle Rey sitting there talking. "Uncle Eddy called. He said that we need to get to the courthouse right away. The judge is thinking about throwing out the trial because of all of the complaints."  
  
Dad stood up. "Let me get ready. You coming too Rey?"  
  
"Yeah. You guys need a ride?" He asked me as dad left the room.  
  
"Yeah. We took a cab here yesterday." I sat on the couch as I tied my shoes. Today could be another disaster.  
  
The front door opened and Jason came in. "Hello Rey. Didn't expect to see you here."  
  
"I came by to see if you guys knew where Chris was but I found him myself. I'm going to give them a ride to the courthouse. Seems the judge is thinking about throwing out the trial."  
  
"Uh huh." He said. "I need to get ready for work. Danny your mother is taking today off from work again to stay with Trevor. Call me when you are done at the courthouse. I want to talk to you and your father. Now excuse me. I need to get ready." He said leaving.  
  
I turned back to Rey who just shrugged. Dad came back into the room. "You ready Danny?" I nodded. I wonder if he and Jason saw each other. "Then let's go."  
  
Uncle Rey drove us back to the courthouse. He told me he had come to Atlanta, like a lot of others it seems, when he saw dad on the news. He came to mom's house thinking we'd know where he is. He hadn't expected to see dad at her house. I have a feeling a lot of people were going to come out of the woodwork after all of the 'dead' people testify.  
  
When we arrived at the courthouse we were quickly ushered into the courtroom by who I presume were agents. Uncle Eddy rushed up to us. "You guys are just in time. Judge Arspringer said she'd make her decision in five minutes. Hi Rey." He said as we all sat down.  
  
The Bailiff came into the courtroom and walked over to us. "Judge Arspringer wants to talk to the two of you." He said to dad and me. We got up and followed him to the judge's chambers. We entered and saw that she was reading some piece of paper.  
  
"Have a seat." She instructed. We did. "I am having a hard time deciding what to do with this trial. I thought it was complicated enough when it was just a murder trial. Now we've got a dead person coming back from the dead. And another attempted murder. I should just throw out the trial and call it a mistrial and you can start this all over again."  
  
"Please don't do that." I said. "That's what Vince and his group want." I knew that if she threw out the trial it would take another month before the trial would start again. That would definitely be what Vince and his group would want.  
  
"Your honor I have been in hiding for almost fifteen years. We can't afford a mistrial. They've been going after my son. I'm afraid of what else they might do."  
  
The judge nodded. "Yes, I know. I have children myself but I have to think of this professionally. Thank you for speaking with me. You may go back out there. I will make my decision within fifteen minutes."  
  
We left the chambers and headed into the courtroom. We took the seats we had been sitting in.  
  
I looked around the courtroom and saw Hunter's eyes shooting daggers at dad but at least he didn't attack dad. Vince and Stephanie were staring straight ahead. Everyone else was nervously chatting amongst themselves. This was the longest fifteen minutes of my life. I thought the judge would never come back out.  
  
She finally did and took a seat on her bench. "This was a very hard decision to make. There are a lot of reasons for me to call a mistrial. I know there are some people that hope I do. But after listening to a couple of people I realize a lot of bad things could happen if I do. SO I have decided to let the trial continue." There was a lot of cheers and boos.  
  
"Your honor I am asking you to give us a recess so I can talk to my clients." Mr. Right, one of the Defense Attorneys said.  
  
"That would be fine. The trial is in recess for fifteen minutes." Judge Arspringer banged her gavel.  
  
We filed out of the courtroom. "Danny," Michael said coming up to me with a large man. "This is Everett. He is your bodyguard. He will be with you the all the time" I looked at him more closely. He looked to be 6'7" tall and weighs at least 300 pounds of all muscle.  
  
"Danny you need to go." Uncle Eddy said also coming up to me. Damn it I had really hoped he wouldn't make me leave. Not after yesterday but he looked dead serious. I sighed and left. Everett followed me out. Now where was I going to go? Maybe I should visit Trevor in the hospital.  
  
"I don't suppose you have a car?" I asked. He shook his head no. "Guess we'll take a cab." I said more to myself.  
  
"Wherever you want to go Mr. Benoit is just fine. Within reason." He added. I'm thinking Uncle Eddy talked to him about me.  
  
We took a cab and headed to Emory. I think I should call Stan and see if I can go over there and talk to him or have him come over here to talk. I sort of need a sounding board and advice.  
  
We took the elevator to the 9th floor. I really hope mom's in a better mood then she was yesterday. 


	107. Ever Thought of Alaska?

I watched as Danny and his bodyguard left the courthouse. I looked at my watch. We still had ten minutes before the trial started again. My own bodyguard, who I had been introduced to earlier Alex, was standing leaning against the wall watching everyone around me.

"Yo Eddy!" I looked and saw Rey Mysterio Jr. walking up to us. Rey had actually been guest trainer at OVW a couple of times including my first week of training, so I know who he was. I also remember that he had come into the courtroom with Danny and Chris.

"Hey Rey." Eddy looked a bit comfortable.

"What's going on Eddy? I saw Chris on the news and got here as fast as I could. I went to Nancy's house to see if they knew anything and there he was. He told me to ask you about it. So que pasa Eddy? What the hell is going on here?"

"It's a really long story and I can't say it here. The wrong people could hear it. That was a great point. Anyone could over hear the conversation and we need the element of surprise. "I'll tell you after the trial is adjourned for the day."

Rey stared at Eddy. "You have a lot of explaining to do man." He walked into the courtroom.

Eddy looked at me. "Remember not a word to Danny or Megan." He said going into the courtroom also. I wonder what it was that they didn't want Chris' family to hear. I think we were all under the impression we know everything now. I walked into the courtroom with Alex right behind me. This could be interesting.

I was really tired by the time the trial adjourned for the day. I tried to not even think about Chris' testimony because if I did I could accidentally tell Danny. So I thought of other things.

As I followed Uncle Bret and the others out of the courtroom I thought I saw a man with short blond hair signing autographs. He looks kind of familiar but I'm not sure. I watched as he made his way over to us.

Chris walked up to him and hugged him. They had an exchange that I couldn't hear and they laughed. Obviously was someone that knew Chris was alive. I noticed the guy was wearing a t-shirt that read Fozzie World Tour. Now I knew who this was. His name's Chris Jericho. I know there are people at OVW that love the band. I also heard that he used to wrestle before retiring to focus on his music.

Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho went over to where Michael was standing. They said something that I couldn't hear. Michael nodded and said something in reply. They all walked away.

Eddy turned to Rey. "Come with me." And they walked away. I looked around for Uncle Bret and found him talking to Ric Flair.

I walked up to them. "You ready to go?" Uncle Bret asked me. I nodded. "Let's go." He said.

As we walked Ric Flair turned to face me. "Was that Chris Jericho I saw earlier?"

"Yes."

Ric shook his head. "This could be interesting." I don't think I need to ask.

When we got back to the hotel we saw that Danny wasn't there. Hmm I wonder where he is.

"Okay everyone's here. You want to tell me what the hell is going on Guerrero?" Jericho demanded. "Chris sort of gave me the quick version I want the whole story."

"I want to know everything too. Chris didn't have much time to tell me anything." Rey said sitting next to Jericho.

Eddy looked a bit of nervous. "It's a long story."

"They usually are so start at the beginning." Jericho said crossing his arms over his chest.

Eddy sighed before he started. He went over every detail. I thought for a moment that Jericho was going to pick something up and throw it. I don't blame him. I think a lot of the people that found out had wanted to do the same thing.

"Eddy why did it take you this long to nail Vince?" Jericho asked once Eddy was finished. "If you had all of this proof, why didn't you nail him right away?"

"Chris you have no idea how much I wish we could have. Then I wouldn't have had too see Nancy go through so much pain. Wouldn't have had to see one of my best friends age quickly because of grief. To have to know there were children who would have to grow up without fathers." He sighed. "I'll be glad when all of this is finally over."

"I can't say I'm surprised Vince did all of this." Rey said. "I don't think there was anyone who didn't think there was something going on after Survivor Series 2003. And then Bad Blood 2004 happened. I stayed in WWF till Summerslam then went to TNA. The WWF went to hell after almost everyone left."

Interesting. I thought the only people that stayed in the WWF after Chris' 'death' were on Vince's good side and Matt and Amy Hardy.

"Jeff Jarrett always acted like nothing ever happened. But I think everyone had thought Jarrett had done something. I didn't stay there long."

Jericho finally broke his silence. "I still can't believe you didn't tell me! Chris was a good friend of mine. I should have been told."

"Dean didn't even know." Eddy said shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "We had to keep the amount of people who knew low. Even though there were some people who should have known. Like their families. Their families all should have known but we couldn't tell them."

Jericho just shook his head. "Is there anything you aren't telling us? Are you hiding any more presumed dead wrestlers in like Alaska?"

Eddy laughed a little. "That's one place we never considered. People would definitely not look there. Especially a couple of snoops." He said looking at me.

"Who is this anyway?" Jericho asked looking at me. "I know it's not Megan Benoit because she's standing over there. Looks too young to be Stephanie Austin."

"I'm Athena Hart." I said with a slight smile. He had covered everyone but me.

"You don't by chance wrestle as Sierra do you?" Rey asked. "Because you look a lot like her."

This time I laughed. "That's me. I didn't want people to know I'm Owen Hart's daughter. Some people at OVW hold it against you if you are a second generation or higher. That and I didn't want my mom to know I was training to be a wrestler."

"That's good." Jericho said with a laugh. "I guess there's a lot of secrets around here."

"Chris Danny's on the phone." Marissa said sticking her head in the room. "I mean Benoit." She said smiling slightly at Jericho. "He said it's urgent."

Chris hurried out of the room.

"So anyway," Jericho continued. "How long were you going to keep this charade going? From what you said you only put things into motion when Athena, Chavo, D-Lo and Danny followed you back to the cabin. If they hadn't how much longer were you going to keep this up?"

"As long as we had to Chris. Russo only recently gave us that tape. If he..."

Chris Benoit came hurrying back into the room. "I'm meeting Danny and Jason for dinner at the hotel restaurant. Danny sounds really shaken up. I'll be back later." He said practically out the door before he even said the last word.

I hope Danny's okay.


	108. Shots at the Heart

Notes: This fic has lost a lot of its length because Dana lost her disk (and her mind). I'm trying to recreate it.  Also Laurel told us the hotel is called Wyndom Marriot and when this fic was started the days inn still stood!  but just pretend it's actually Wyndom Marriot.  Thanks Laurel for the Atlanta geography.  I'm a west coaster.  I know very little about atlanta.

Shots at the Heart

I sighed while watching the TV in my brother's hospital room. We were watching an old Power Rangers episode from like the 90s. I watched the show when I was younger too. Everett was sitting there keeping an eye on the hallway. After the incident in the bathroom I wasn't allowed to be alone. Neither was Athena but she was probably still at the trial.

I was glad when the show was over and Trevor turned it off. I wasn't really paying attention to the show. I stared out the window lost in my thoughts. "So why aren't you at the trial?" Trevor's question caught me off guard. I hadn't expected the question.

Do I lie and say my dad didn't want me there today? Probably not a good answer. I was glad mom had gone to get some coffee. "I wanted to come see you. You are getting out of the hospital tomorrow right? I'll be busy with the trial.""

"Why didn't you tell mom your dad was alive?" And people say I like to go straight to the point!

This wasn't going to be easy to answer. "I couldn't. I wasn't even supposed to know. They told me I couldn't tell anyone else because it would have put everyone in danger." That was the truth.

"You made mom cry."

"Huh?" I was confused. I didn't know she had continued crying. Now I felt terrible.

"When you took her out to lunch. We came home and found her crying. She wouldn't say why."

"I didn't mean to make her cry. I thought she should know my dad's alive."

"Now my parents aren't married." I looked away. He was right. What could I say? "I don't have any parents!"

"Yes you do! Mom and Jason adopted you. That makes them your parents. It makes me your brother."

"I don't want you as a brother."

Now I felt like crying. That remark hurt as much as if he had slapped me. I saw Everett, my bodyguard, was watching us. I really wish he wasn't there at the moment. "I understand that you are mad Trevor. I would be too. But to me you'll always be my brother."

He didn't say anything. He just turned the TV back on.

I left the hospital room feeling a bit stung by what Trevor said to me. That was the last thing I ever imagined him to say to me. Me not his brother. That stung worse then any blow ever could.

I walked to the soda machine that I had seen when I walked to Trevor's room. I offered to buy Everett a soda but he passed. I looked at my watch. Only 11:30 AM. What a morning this has been so far. I couldn't help but wonder what my dad was saying at the trial. I wish I could be there. What is it that he doesn't want us to know?

I stood drinking my soda while looking out the window of the 9th floor. It wasn't too smoggy today. I could actually see clouds.

ring

My cell phone rang. I looked at the caller id. It was Cam's cellphone. "Hello?"

"Danny? It's Cameron. I really need to talk to you." His voice was shaking a little bit.

"Okay Cam. When?"

"Right away. Where can we meet?"

I thought quickly. I sometimes would go meet my brother when he attended Emory at a pizza place right off campus. That would be a good place. "Um how about Everybody's Pizza. It's on Campbell Drive. You need directions?" I asked.

"No I'll just tell the cab driver. I'm sure they've heard of it. I'll see you in twenty." He hung up without another word. I almost dread this conversation.

"Who is this?" Everett asked as soon as I put my phone in my pocket.

"A friend. He needs to talk." Even though I trust Cam I'm glad I'll have Everett there with me. He doesn't talk much but he's certainly big enough to take someone down. But like I said I do trust Cam.

I walked into Trevor's room. "I'm going to Everybody's Pizza for lunch. You want me to bring something back?"

"I can come with you." Tatem said. I hadn't even noticed she was there. She must have come in when I went to get a soda.

"I'll be okay with Everett." I knew Cam probably wanted to talk to me alone so having my sister around probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"Can you bring back a medium pepperoni pizza?" Mom asked. She pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to me.

"Okay." I said. "See you later." I walked out of the hospital room. Everett followed closely behind me. It may take some getting used to the idea of almost a human shadow with me all the time.

We walked to Everybody's Pizza. It was not far from Emory so it wasn't hard to find. I took a seat and waited for Cam. Everett sat at the table right next to us. Ten minutes later Cam came walking in. He was a mess. I could see his eyes were bloodshot and his clothes were a little wrinkled.

He walked up to me and sat at the table. "Tell me my dad didn't try to kill you!" Were the first words out of his mouth.

I kind of flinched. I should have expected that his first words would be along that line. People were actually looking at us. I nodded. "Yes..."

Cam ran a hand through his hair. "First it comes out your dad isn't dead. I take my sisters to a movie come back and find out dad's been arrested for attempted murder again and this time it's you. I just can't believe it. Not my dad." He said shaking his head.

I wasn't quite sure what to say. I certainly wouldn't believe it if I was in his shoes. This has to be harder on him then it had been on me. My dad didn't fall off a pedestal or anything.

"He did. Cam I saw him." I said slightly wincing at the look in Cam's eyes. I didn't know if he was going to cry or yell.

"Not my dad. He would never threaten to kill someone. He's not a bad person Danny. You have to believe me he's not. He even told me when he was in Louisville that he was glad to see that Athena was following her family's tradition of going into the business. He said he had fun as guest trainer. He didn't even know you were there. You were gone that whole week. Where were you?"

"I went home for awhile." I left it at that. I didn't think I should tell him it was because they wanted me closer to where Nitro would be so I could be there to help Shane with taking Vince down.

"Suddenly you are on Nitro with Shane McMahon who's saying he still owned WCW. Just how long have you known your dad was alive?"

"A couple months." I decided there was no point in hiding that. "It was during when I took time off."

"I still can't believe my dad would do something like this. Maybe he just went with Uncle Kevin and Uncle Sean and didn't know you were there. My dad is not a murderer."

"There is evidence Cam." I wasn't sure if now was the time to tell him about the micro tape that Brian Pillman had made that Borden had kept a hold of. I touched the necklace I was wearing thinking about it.

"How can you say he did it?" He demanded. "My dad loves me and my sisters. He'd never do anything to us. "I just can't believe this. He loves my mother, my two sisters and me. He would never hurt anyone." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I consider you and Athena the only real friends I have at OVW. You know how most of the others are. There are a lot of people like Chad who resent you for having a father that was in the business. And some of the ones who are like us think they can use their parents like Simone does. You and I both had parents who were both in the business and our mother's quit the business when they married our dad's. At least my dad didn't fake his death."

Okay now that hurt. I know Cam's having a lot of trouble coping with this but that hurt. This is the second time today. "My dad had to fake his death." I wasn't sure how much I should divulge to him. Not that I don't trust him or anything.

"Why are they just now coming forward with this? Why wait fourteen years? I just don't understand why your dad would stay in hiding all of these years."

How in the world do I answer that without telling him everything? I know it would all come out soon but I really don't think I should tell him about Steve and Owen. "They were waiting until they had enough evidence." That was the truth.

Cam stared at the table. "I really don't' want this to be true. If it is you don't' know how it will effect my family. Sylvia's only ten years old. We haven't told her anything. Shawna knows but she doesn't believe it either. My mom hasn't said much about it though I heard her on the phone saying it wasn't true. This is like a nightmare!"

I looked at Everett who seemed to be dividing his attention between the door and us. He looked to be trying not to be obvious about it. Which was a good idea.

"Why would my dad do this Danny?" He asked bringing my attention back to him. "It just doesn't make sense!"

There was a question I didn't have an answer to. I mean I had a fairly good idea why Hunter wanted my dad dead. A lot of people have had no trouble telling me that. But no one ever said why Michaels did what he did. Though Athena did tell me why he told Vince about Shane knowing. Did he feel that way about others? Or was he under orders. I'm sure Cam really doesn't want to hear that theory! "I don't know why he did it Cam."

Cam gave a slow nod. "Tell your dad thanks for ruining my family." He got up and left. It couldn't have been any worse if he had slapped me in the face. I know he was having problems but that hurt.

I sat at the table for a while just staring at the wall. After awhile I got up and ordered the pizza. I wasn't hungry or anything but there would be a lot of questions if I didn't bring it back like I said I would. It was a quiet walk back to the hospital.

When I got back to the hospital I took a seat in the chair of Trevor's room. I was so tired. Maybe if I close my eyes for a while my problems would go away.

"Hey Danny." Someone said shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Jason standing there. I pulled my arm out from under the blanket that was placed over me to see what time it was. It was 6:12. I had been asleep for several hours.

"I was wondering if you and your dad would have dinner with me at the restaurant in the hotel." I looked at Jason wondering if he had completely lost his mind. He wanted to have lunch with my dad? Why? Lately I've gotten the feeling Jason was mad at my dad. What would he do? Throw things at dad? Yell at him?

"I guess. Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"I just want to talk to him. I want to meet him and see if what I've been told is true." Okay this could be a disaster. But I decided to see if dad wanted to go. I really hope dad says no.

I called Shane's cell phone figuring either dad still has it or one of them knows where dad is. It was almost impossible for anyone to call the floor.

"Hello?"

"Hi Marissa this is Danny. Is my dad there? It's urgent." I said quietly.

"Of course Danny. I'll go get him." I looked up and saw that mom and Jason had left the room and Trevor was watching some movie.

"Danny?" Dad asked.

"Yeah it's me. Jason wants to have dinner with you and me at the hotel tonight."

"He does?" He sounded as surprised as I had felt. "Uh okay. What time?"

I thought quickly. "In thirty minutes?" I thought that would give us enough time to get back to the hotel."

"Are you okay Danny you sound kinda funny. Something wrong?" I guess my voice had sounded weird. I was still shaken by what Cam and Trevor said to me already today. I don't think I could handle another round of this.

I hung up with my dad and walked out of the hospital room. I found mom and Jason standing there talking. I really hope my mother is trying to talk him out of this dinner. I just know this is going to be a disaster. This whole day had been a disaster. Had it really been only 12 hours ago that Chris Jericho had called my dad? Almost seemed like an eternity.

"You ready to go?" I nodded. "Okay we'll take my car." We got into the car. Me in the passenger seat with Everett in the back. "Downtown Days Inn right?"

"Yes."

"I know where that is."

It was a quiet ride to the hotel. We took the elevator from the parking garage to the lobby floor. When we got to the restaurant the host led us to a table where dad was sitting.

"You must be Jason." Dad said as soon as we were sitting down. Maybe having them meet was a bad idea though it had been Jason's idea not mine. They both looked uncomfortable. Must be tough for both of them. I don't think that dad ever thought he'd meet Jason and vice versa before this trial. More so on Jason's part.

"Yes I am." Jason said sticking his hand out. They shook hands. There was silence for a few minutes. "Trial seems to be going well."

"Yes. I'll be glad when this is over. I know everyone else will be. Though trying to adjust to not being in hiding will be hard."

"Oh I bet. Almost fifteen years in hiding. I couldn't even begin to imagine how that was. After all you abandoned your wife and children." There was more silence. The tension could have been cut with a knife.

"It wasn't like that Jason. I went into hiding to protect my family. I wasn't given a choice but I knew it was the only way to keep Vince and his group from going after Nancy and my children. I never wanted anything to happen to them."

"Except put them through a lot of pain." Jason said under his breath.

"So how did the baseball game go?" I asked hoping it would help. I hadn't really talked to my stepfather since the day of the disastrous family reunion. Other then at the hospital with Jason.

"Didn't win but fine. Trevor had a lot of fun though."

More silence. Well at least Jason wasn't trying to strangle my father. That I thought would happen. I wonder how long this peace will last.

"You get to see Misha, Kelly and Nick yet?" Jason asked.

"Just Kelly and Nick. Tatem promised to bring Misha by but I guess she hasn't had a chance to. I still can't believe that I'm a grandfather."

Uh oh. I didn't like the look on Jason's face. I knew this could be trouble. "It's not like you spent much time with your own children." Yep I was right.

"Hey I already said this wasn't my choice. Like I said I didn't want anything to happen to my family. They mean more to me then anything else."

"You know I helped raise Danny. I never treated him anything less then a son and I love him as much as I love Trevor. But I always knew that I would always be the stepfather to him. I never tried to replace you. That wouldn't be right so I tried to be a stepfather he could confide in."

I don't know if I like the idea how they talk about me as if I wasn't there and especially with how this conversation was going.

"I'm glad to know you did that. I'm glad he could have a stable life even if I couldn't be in it." Dad said looking at the waitress who was standing there looking at them in anticipation. I hope she didn't hear much. We gave our orders and she hurried away.

"Nancy never wanted Danny to get hurt that's why she wouldn't let him watch wrestling. To her the sport wasn't safe. She thought it had killed you and other people she had known. I tried to understand why Danny wanted to be in it. Would you have wanted Danny to be in the sport after all that's happened to you?"

"I think he's a lot like me. I had always wanted to be in the sport growing up. I wanted to be just like Dynamite Kid who was my childhood hero. There was no question about what I wanted to be. My parents were behind me on my decision. They even bought me a weight set. If he had really wanted to be in the sport I would have backed him. And I got to see him wrestle. He's good."

"So even though Vince was responsible for killing a lot of wrestlers you would want your son in that sport?" Jason almost seems to be trying to trap dad. I really hope there's no bloodshed.

"Look Jason I know first hand that this sport has a very dark side to it. I found out the hard way as did even Shane McMahon but I wouldn't squash my son's dreams. I wouldn't have minded if he didn't want to be a wrestler either."

Jason had a thoughtful look on his face and didn't say anything for the longest time. Our food arrived during the silence. I still wasn't feeling too hungry so had just gotten soup.

Jason broke his silence. "Your coming back really hurt Nancy you know that? I don't think she ever stopped caring about you." I looked at Jason. You'd never guess that by the way she reacted.

"I never wanted to hurt anyone but I wasn't given a choice and I didn't want to see Nancy because I knew she had moved on with her life. Two of my children thought it would be a good idea for her, Tatem and David to see me." He sighed. "I wanted to see them but not like that."

Jason just stared at him. "I came here wanting to hate you and punch you for what you did to your family but I think I understand. I hope Vince McMahon gets put away forever."

I sighed with relief. Finally a conversation that didn't end badly.


	109. Yesterday's Sorrows

A bit of a warning: If you don't like the word whore or the theme of suicide, this is probably not the chapter for you. - Juliet

Dana's comments This is all Jules' idea. She gets the bla...uh congratulations?

Things were tense at the courthouse. This was the day that Steve Borden was going to testify, followed by Steve Austin. Somebody by the name of Jeff Jarrett was going to be arrested either right before or right after Steve Austin walked into the courtroom. One only knew what the reactions of Vince and Co., were going to be after what Hunter Helmsley's reaction was to seeing Danny's Dad walk into the courtroom Monday. Dad was going to testify on Friday.

Neither Danny nor Chris wanted to really talk about what they discussed with Danny's stepfather Jason. It wasn't a joyous mood, but Danny seemed a bit better following that dinner. Danny told me about his encounter with Cam. I can only imagine what his reaction will be towards me when Dad testifies.

As I finished getting some water from one of the fountains, I gave a subtle nod to Alex. He was trying to blend in with the crowd. While everybody could understand why Danny needed a bodyguard, especially after getting nearly shot Monday, I'm still kind of off the radar, though Stephanie might very well figure to try and do something as vengeance. Like Shane had mentioned, Stephanie and Vince rarely forgot a grievance. So Alex is trying not to make himself obvious until Thursday when me and Uncle Bret testify. Danny was also supposed to testify about Vince kidnapping him on Thursday.

As I started to turn from the fountain, I felt somebody bump into me rather rudely, while storming down the hall. I started to call out and Alex started to move towards him when we heard Mark Calloway call out: "Brian."

The man turned around and I got a good look at him. He was stocky, about 6 feet tall. His face was kind of square jawed and his dark eyes had incredible rage and fire in them.

"Well, well, if it isn't the 'brother' of the man that killed my father," this Brian spat out, glaring at Mark in disgust.

Mark seemed to be wounded by that.

"Glenn didn't kill Jerry, Brian, it was - "

"Don't you dare say it was an accident!" Brian nearly shouted whirling on the taller, older man. "That's bullshit! You know damn good and well that Vince had it in for my old man, since the day he quit the WWF for that whore Stacy. So don't even tell me Vince didn't plan it!"

I came here to testify against Vince and see that the bastard gets what he deserves. I hope he burns in hell like my Dad was forced to in the last moments of his life!" and with that, Brian continued to stalk away down the hall.

I cautiously approached Mark. "What was that all about?" I asked just as cautiously.

Mark sighed deeply and led me towards a more private area of the courthouse that would presumably have no prying eyes and ears. We came to a remote courtyard at the far end of the courthouse. Mark sat down heavily on one of the stone benches.

"That man in the hallway was Brian Lawler," Mark started to explain.

"The one that Vince planted the drugs on?" I guessed, remembering what Shane McMahon had said the night his father was busted.

Mark nodded. "One of several I suspect. He's also Jerry Lawler's son."

I had a vague sense of who Jerry Lawler was. A big name wrestler during the 70's and 80's, he became a commentator for the WWF during the latter years of his life. He was also in a newsclipping of the ring the night my Dad 'died.' I have to remember to ask Eddy about that later.

"The man that Brian was accusing of murder was Glenn Jacobs," Mark continued, breaking into my thoughts, "he wrestled under a variety of different aliases, including 3 with the WWF. His last was as my brother Kane, when I wrestled for the company as the Undertaker. Glenn was one of the good guys in the business. Never really complained or anything, did as he told, and was careful doing it. That last stunt with Lawler kind of destroyed him just as much as it did Jerry."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Glen had just lost his Kane mask thanks to one of Helmsley's brilliant ideas and the idea was for him to torch an interviewer. Now, originally Jim Ross was supposed to be the announcer in that spot, but he caught a bug, so it fell to Jerry Lawler. Now Glen was always careful when using fire stunts as Kane and I have no doubt he did it that last time too. But either there wasn't enough flame retardant on Lawler, or it was the wrong kind of retardant used, because when Glen lit Lawler up, Lawler went completely up in flames. Glen realized it and broke kayfabe trying to get the flames out. Lawler was burned over 90 of his body including his face."

He died a few hours later at a local hospital."

"It shook Glen up badly. He never had anybody die or be hurt in a fire stunt he participated in before. He tried to apologize at Jerry's funeral, but Brian really laid into him. Said pretty much what he said a few minutes ago about Glen and Vince burning like Jerry did. I think that broke something inside of Glen."

"A week later, Glen took his own life. That was when I seriously considered getting out of the business."

"Do you think that Vince had a role in it?" I asked.

Mark shook his head. "I don't know, but I do know that if he did, Glen didn't know about it. Killing or hurting somebody just wasn't in his nature. I'll see you inside the courtroom." He finished up, getting up and walking way, shouldering past Eddy Guerrero as he went.

I went up to follow when Eddy grabbed my arm and sat me back down.

"There's a lot more to the story than most people know," Eddy said sitting down on the same bench that Mark occupied moments earlier.

I was puzzled by Eddy's statement until I remembered that newsclipping that I'd been keeping all these years.

"Jerry Lawler knew about Dad, didn't he." It wasn't a question.

Eddy nodded. "I'm not entirely sure how he got involved. He might have heard a conversation or something, the same way I did. I don't think I'll ever fully know. But anyways he came to the FBI much like Shane Douglas and I did and we all agreed to try and prevent Owen's death. It was through Jerry that we learned that the harness was rigged to fail that night in Kemper. Jerry went to ringside to help Chase somewhat with Owen. He didn't visit the cabin as much because he was employed by Vince.

"Why do you think he quit?"

"Pretty much like Brian said. Jerry was head over heels in love with this woman Stacy Carter who was employed by the WWF as The Kat or Miss Kitty depending on what she preferred to be called from week to week. Probably loved her until he died. Anyhow, he was upset when Vince fired her without giving a reason, so he quit and went home with her. He never told her about your Dad by the way, which was a good thing since shortly after he quit, things between Jerry and Stacy went sour. Jerry spent some time at the cabin to heal from the end of that marriage and then went back to work for the WWF later that year."

"Did he ever find out why Vince fired her?" I asked.

"We thing it might have had something to do with Joanie Lauer who wrestled as Chyna for the WWF. She was a horrid woman to work with. I should know, I worked with her for about six months. But that's just speculation."

I asked the next obvious question: "Do you think Vince had Lawler killed?"

Eddy shook his head much like Mark had when I asked.

"I honestly don't know," Eddy said, "like Mark said, Ross was originally supposed to do the angle and then he got ill and Lawler had to do it. It does seem suspicious, but there are other factors involved. I do agree with Mark. If Vince had a hand in Jerry's death, Glen, had no willing part in it. He wasn't the type to do Vince's dirty work."

"Eddy, Athena," Uncle Bret's voice cut in. "Mark said you were here. Court starts in 10 minutes."

I wondered how much he heard. I got kind of an answer when he said in a low voice to Eddy "We need to talk later."

We moved to head into the courthouse when nature called.

"I have to go to the bathroom. You guys go, I'll be there in a few minutes."

Alex started to follow when I told him: "Sorry Alex, unless you can get the proper equipment, I don't think you can protect me in the restroom." Then I headed into the restroom near the on the otherside of the courtroom.

As I went to wash my hands and leave, I heard a gravely, female voice from behind me:

"Athena Hart?"

I whirled around searching for the source of the voice when it spoke again.

"A message to you and your Uncle from Stephanie."

I felt a hard blow to my head smashing me into the restroom mirrors and then nothing else.

Don't kill us!

Dana's comments


	110. Too Late

I was about to walk into the courtroom when I noticed Athena wasn't around. I know she was here earlier. I wonder where she is. I looked over to where Uncle Eddy was. He was standing near the Defense table talking to Erichson. I saw Bret was already seated but I still didn't see Athena.

"Daniel." I turned around hearing my mother's voice. She was standing there along with Tatem.

"Hey. What are you guys doing here?" I asked. I figured they would both be at work or mom at the hospital with Trevor.

"We thought we'd watch the trial." Tatem said. "I don't think I'll have a chance to be here between work and Misha. I took this morning off so I have the day off." She works mornings.

"And I took the whole week off from work." Mom said. "I want to testify Friday." I think that's good. I don't know the whole schedule of who is being called except I'm testifying Thursday.

Chavo coming in caught my eye as hurried over to Bret and said something to him. Bret ran out of the courtroom. My curiosity got to me so I followed him. I had a feeling mom and Tatem would follow me out of the courtroom.

When I caught up with him I found him kneeling on the floor outside where the restrooms were. I saw Athena's bodyguard trying to restrain a large woman. Now I saw what Bret had been leaning over.

Athena's face was bleeding and she looked to be unconscious. "What happened?" I asked.

"I heard glass breaking. I went in to make sure Ms. Hart was all right and found this woman standing over her with a lead pipe."

Bret looked at her. "Carrying out Vince's dirty work? First you attack Danny Benoit in his hotel room and now you go after my niece in the bathroom?" I'm sure if Alex wasn't holding him back he'd have attacked her.

"You guys didn't get the earlier messages. Stephanie wanted me to hand deliver this one to Athena. Head the warnings Bret or something bad could happen to them." She turned and glared at me before she was led away by cops.

"Don't you dare go near my son!" Mom said getting in her face. Obviously she had followed me out of the courtroom.

The woman laughed. "A bit late for that Nancy."

Mom looked like she was going to lunge at her but Everett grabbed her arm slightly. "Tell your husband and his friends to stay away from my son." Mom said trying to shake Everett's hand off.

"Whatever you say Nancy." She said as she was led away by the cops. She turned and looked at Athena one more time before she was led out of sight.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hart. She had jumped her in the bathroom." Alex said.

"It was our fault for not thinking about the chance they could jump her in the bathroom." Bret said picking her up gently. "I'll stay with her. See if you can get an ambulance." He said.

Tatem turned to me. "What's going on Danny? What did she mean it's a little late for that?"

"I don't even know who she is." I said though the voice sounded vaguely familiar but I have no idea why.

"That's Joanie Waltman. Sean Waltman's wife. I don't know her other then she did an angle with Eddy." She said disgust evident in her voice. "From what your dad said she was a nasty woman to be around. I think she dated Hunter Hearst Helmsley."

"Sounds about right. Hello Nancy." We turned around to see dad standing there. "Hi Tatem." He said. "When do I get to see your little girl?"

"Soon. Tonight if it's okay. Um." She looked uncomfortable. "Is she going to be okay?" She asked pointing at the medics who were attending to Athena.

"I think so. Head injuries bleed more." Dad said. "So you guys here to watch the trial?"

"Yes. I want to testify Friday." Mom said. This was the calmest I've seen my parents since I tried to reunite them. Usually mom is yelling at dad. I wonder if Jason told mom about their conversation.

"That's fine. You mind if I talk to Danny?" Dad asked.

Mom shrugged before she and Tatem left.

"You aren't going to tell me I have to leave are you?" I asked thinking about yesterday.

"No. I wanted to make sure you're okay. I had just gotten to the trial when Eddy said Athena was attacked. Are you okay?" Dad asked looking at me up and down.

"I'm fine." I said trying to reassure him. "They attacked Athena." Dad nodded. "Who's Joanie Waltman?"

"Like your mother said she's married to Sean Waltman. She's also one of the people that attacked you in your hotel room." That's why I had recognized her voice! She was the one who ordered them to stop. "She also used to date Triple H. Rumor mill at the time was Helmsley had cheated on her with Stephanie McMahon. Life seemed to imitate art so to speak. How they manage to all stay friends is rather amusing. Unexplainable but amusing. We don't know if she helped commit any of the crimes other then get Stacey Lawler fired."

"Chris? Danny?" we looked up to see Chavo standing there. "The trial's about to start." We followed him into the courtroom.


	111. Shock 'em and Sock 'em

:-D I had fun writing THIS chapter - Juliet

Dana's comments

Well, there was a 15 minute recess while the paramedics took care of Athena and got her to the ambulance. Even though court was recessed, nobody was allowed to leave the courtroom. I guess so they could work on Athena without a hundred people, including obviously the media hovering around them in a frenzy. Bret never came back in after Chavo alerted him to what happened, so I guess he went to the hospital with her. Things seemed to calm down a little bit afterwards.

Eric testified third after Russo and Brian Lawler. Vince shouted: "I knew it! You traitorous son of a Bitch!" but behind that didn't react too much. Eric had this smirk on his face as he passed the defense table. I guess he knew Vince would react that way. He followed Russo and the Owen tape was played in court. I wonder how the Hart family was bearing having to watch Russo being paid off for Owen's murder?

Steve Borden testified after Eric. The Brian Pillman tape was played in open court. I tried to tune it out. I'd heard it twice already and, really, twice was two too much to hear a man talk about his own impending death. I could already feel my stomach turning. I turned around and saw Mom and Debra comforting another woman who had completely broken down in the court room. Dad was sitting next to me and also saw it and looked pained seeing the woman crying. I'd have to ask Dad about that later. I don't know how Mom was reacting. Maybe she was just too busy comforting the other woman to register a reaction at the moment. Tatem looked ill. I'm sure the feeling was going around.

I looked across the aisle to Cam. He looked between disbelief and illness. I wonder if he knows about what just happened to Athena. And if he did, did he deny that too? I wonder what his reaction would be if I went up to him and told him the wife of one of his Dad's good buddies just bludgeoned somebody he claimed to be friends with a lead pipe in the bathroom and tried to leave her for dead?

As Borden got off the stand, and out of the courtroom (I'm sure nobody wanted to even look at him at this point considering how long he kept this without turning it over to the authorities), somebody jumped in his path and cold - cocked him. He screamed as Borden went down: "How could you!"

It took a ton of security people to pull him away from Borden. The guy looked to be about David's age, possibly. The judge recessed court for thirty minutes while security dealt with the attacker and got Borden out of the courtroom before somebody else could attack him.

I decided to ask Dad about the woman crying earlier

"Dad, who was that woman Mom and Debra were comforting as the tape was playing?" I asked as everybody spilled out of the courtroom to stretch their legs after a morning of testimony.

Dad gave a mournful look.

"That was Melanie Pillman, Brain's widow," Dad started to explain, "the man that knocked Borden out was her oldest, Zach."

Oy. Well, that explained why the other guy tried to take a shot at Steve Borden. I guess there was something worse than the Hart family seeing that tape of Russo and Vince McMahon.

"What do you think will happen to him?" I asked.

Dad shook his head. "I don't know. Though he probably did what most of us wanted to."

"And one of us did," I muttered vaguely remembering what Austin did before Steve Borden left our hotel the day we found out about the tape. Probably the one silver lining out of Bret slipping about that to Borden and Pohl. If we hadn't brought them to the hotel, Steve Austin wouldn't have gotten some revenge for Borden's procrastination.

We moved through the crowd towards Mom, Debra Austin, and Melanie Pillman, most of the reporters having been sequestered on a different part of the courthouse after Dad's sudden appearance after the prosecution was forced at the judge's request to tell her about ALL the witness that were upcoming in the trial including Steve Austin and Owen Hart. Judge Arspringer decided it would be too much of a madhouse to have them actually in the courtroom with all of the surprise witnesses so she simply moved them out of the main courthouse area and far away from the courtroom where a TV monitor was set up to allow all the reporters and other media to watch the trial. Smart move.

We approached Mom and the other two women in a small corner of the courtroom, where Mrs. Pillman was waiting for news about whether her son would be charged with anything or not. Mom looked halfway between upset and angry, probably at not being told about the tape before it aired. Mrs. Pillman was still crying. Eddy was there as well.

"God, Melanie," Dad said pulling her into a hug. "I wish you hadn't had to hear that I'm so sorry."

"You knew this was coming?" Mom asked, in a hushed tone, probably as to not upset Mrs. Pillman further.

Eddy was the one that answered. "We only found out about it a week ago. Not even the FBI knew about it until Vince got busted last month. Like Chris said, I'm sorry Mel. If I'd known earlier, it would've saved a lot of aggravation.

"Yeah 20 years," Eric muttered. Melanie Pillman looked up sharply at him. "I swear Melanie, I didn't know about it until the rest of us did. Brian and I may have had a falling out but I was as saddened as everybody else when he died. If I'd known about it earlier, I _promise, _I wouldn't have sat on it like Borden did."

"I tried to get you not to come to day," Debra said softly holding Mrs. Pillman's hand. Suddenly there was a small uproar and Zach Pillman came out of Judge Arspringer's chambers where he was held after hitting Borden. There were a few reporters sticking microphones and tape recorders in his face (I know THAT feeling), but he wasn't in handcuffs or anything, so I guess things didn't go to bad for him. Michael helped shoo away most of the reporters although one seemed to stick with them.

The man had curly blond hair and a bit of a babyface to him along with these blue eyes that seemed to be almost too old for somebody that was David's age. Dad and Eddy looked awestruck or something.

Melanie Pillman went to hug her son. Al Snow had joined us sometime during the conversation and also went to hug the oldest Pillman child.

"Hey Zachary, how are you?" he asked concerned.

"Wishing I could have the last hour back," he replied in somewhat rough voice that sort of reminded me a bit chillingly of how his father sounded on the tape.

Dad moved to hug him next.

"You look just like him." Dad said sounding like he might tear up a bit. "I'm so sorry." I'd have to remember to ask somebody for videos or pictures of Brian Pillman so I have a face to go with the voice and name.

"How did it go in there," Mom asked.

Zachary Pillman shrugged. "Judge said under the circumstances, she wouldn't have me arrested if I promised I wouldn't try to hit or kill anybody else. Well, she said that after I told her that I was the son of the man on the tape," he gave a small sardonic smile.

Al gave a little laugh. "Got your old man's humor too." He looked at the reporter "Dave," he said.

This must've been Dave Meltzer, the editor and owner of the Wrestling Observer newsletter and website. Half the people at OVW swear by him and the other half tend to curse him depending on what he writes in his newsletter and website. I know most of those that hate him are those hoping to go work for Vince.

"Dave," Dad echoed.

"You know, I thought before Monday, I had everything figured out and thought I put a newsletter that would clear several things up next week. Then you," Meltzer pointed at Dad, "walk in, Helmsley loses it, your son is almost shot and today Owen's daughter is attacked by Joanie and you," he pointed at Brian this time, " cold cocked Borden in the courtroom. About the only thing I expected to happen that did go according to what I thought was going to happen was Eric testifying against Vince. Just what the hell is going on around here?"

Dad shrugged. "Maybe a bit of karmic justice?" he answered. Clearly we didn't want to talk about everything in a courtroom that was semi - swarming with a few reporters after what happened this morning. "Surprised Mushnick hasn't shown up yet."

Eddy, who opened a can of soda he'd bought earlier nearly spit it out.

"Oy, I knew I kept forgetting something," he said. "Mushnick got murdered about five years ago. Finally pissed off the wrong person."

Dad was puzzled. "How did he die?"

"Phil was in Australia promoting his latest book, and he tore off on wrestling again on a radio show and he was found stabbed in his hotel room, " Dave Meltzer answered, "Nathan Jones is serving life for it."

That sounded familiar. There was huge press coverage around that time of an NY Times writer and author being murdered in Australia. Mom tried to keep us away from most news as much as possible saying it was nothing but violence. There was a lot of talk about it at school and I heard Uncle Eddy mention it a couple of times when I visited him that summer.

"Did he write for the NY Times?" I asked, speaking up for the first time. Everybody nodded an affirmative on that, so I guess it was the story I was thinking of.

"Did Vince have a hand in it?" I inquired further about it.

Dave, Eddy and Al all shrugged.

"If he did, nobody can prove it," Meltzer said. "Nathan Jones had a record for being a bit of a loose cannon and he had a criminal record in Australia anyways. He worked for Vince for a short time and then quit when the stress got too much for him."

Nathan Jones' name had been vaguely familiar in OVW. When one of the developmental wrestlers tried to quit or anything, some of the guest trainers would say "Don't become another Nathan Jones," and other words to that effect.

Dad had this serious expression on his face. Suddenly there was a big eruption on the otherside of the room and a man with a thick Tennessian accent shouting "What the fucking hell am I being arrested for you slapnuts!" he was led back into the courtroom.

The look on Dave Meltzer's face was absolutely incredulous.

"What tha?" he shook his head, "I'm not sure I going to want to know, why Jarrett's being arrested." Ah, so THAT was Jeff Jarrett.

Debra had a grim satisfaction in her eyes. Of course some of us knew that the 'fun' so to speak wasn't over.

Dad turned to the Pillmans. "Look this day has been tough enough on you guys, Zach, why don't you take your Mom and get out of here before court starts up again,"

Zack Pillman looked like he was about to protest, but Mom intervened.

"Chris is right, Melanie's had a tough day, why don't me and Tatem take you to my house where you can be away from the reporters for a bit."

I kinda figured there were a couple reasons for Mom and Dad doing this: One was because, quite honestly, they had been put through hell today hearing their loved one talking about their impending death with a bunch of friends and strangers. Also, the judge's warning to Zachary Pillman. If he could try and do something like he did to Steve Borden, what would he do when Austin testified once court was in session. Plus I guess after what she'd heard this morning, I'm guessing she didn't want to hear anymore.

While Mom was talking the Pillmans into leaving with her, Dad took Debra Austin aside. "Get Cassidy to go with them. I know she wants to see this, but Athena Hart was already attacked this morning, and I wouldn't put it past Stephanie or Vince to try something with her once they figure out she's here, given everything that they've pulled thus far."

Debra nodded, going to find the youngest of Austin's two daughters.

Zach Pillman finally agreed and together with his mom and sister Brittney, as, well as Cassidy Austin, they left with Mom and Tatem. The baliff came out and annouced that the recess was almost over.

Al slung his arm over Dave Meltzer's shoulder. "Come on, might as well be in the courtroom for these fireworks," he said leading the reporter into the courtroom.

Once we were all seated again, Judge Arspringer slammed her gable again. Unlike Monday, the judge knew what was coming this time and had a lot more police and courtroom bailiffs discreetly around the defense table than when Dad testified. Dad told me about what happened with Hunter on the way back to Mom's house Monday. Another smart move.

"Mr. Olson, call your next witness," she said, knowing what was to come.

"Your honor, we'd like to call Steve Austin to the stand,"

This time the judge pounded her gavel before everybody could erupt. "Show Mr. Austin into the courtroom."

While most everybody was watching Steve Austin walk into the courtroom I was watching the prosecution table. Stephanie looked white as a sheet, while her husband looked like he was just barely restraining himself. I guess he learned from Monday's outburst. Vince didn't say anything unlike when Eric testified, but his face looked red and he looked like he could kill somebody. There was a snap and I looked own to his hands. He'd snapped a pen in half and red ink was flowing out of it and onto his hands. How appropriate.

Somebody however did shout out.

"YOU CAN'T BE HERE!" Jeff Jarrett shouted looking paler than Stephanie and about ready to pass out, "YOUR DEAD! I KNOCKED YOU OFF THAT SCAFFOLD MYSELF! NOBODY COULD'VE SURVIVED THAT!"

He suddenly started clutching his chest with his manacled hands and then dropped to the floor of an apparent heart attack.

This time court was recessed for over an hour.

laughs Karmic justice indeed.

:-D


	112. Who Said They Had Nothing in Common?

Notes: This would have been chapter 113 if my muse hadn't decided to be so stubborn! This chapter is dedicated to the new Mr. And Mrs. Bret Hart. Wow!

Who Said They Had Nothing in Common?

I sat on the floor at my mom and Jason's home. It was kind of strange to be in the same room with Brittney and Zachary Pillman, Cassidy Austin, and my sister Megan. If Oje or Athena were here we'd be covering each family that Vince ruined. Well almost each family. I'm not completely sure how we all ended up at mom's house other then Michael telling me and Megan to go here since they've been receiving a lot of threats since Austin took the stand.

I really hope everyone else is safe. Mom was surprised to see both Megan and I arrive at her house. Once we told her what was going on she told us we could stay here as long as we wanted. Right now mom is picking Trevor up from the hospital. He is being released today. I wonder what he'll think of the crowded house.

Mrs. Pillman was in the kitchen talking to Debra. They would take turns occasionally checking on us. But other then that they left us alone. Everett was going around the house making sure everything was secure. Which was a good idea. Vince's group flipped out like we thought they would. They've gone after Athena and me and now know that both dad and Steve are alive. Wait till they see that Owen's alive!

The front door opened. I turned around and saw mom helping Trevor, who was on crutches, through the door. His eyes got huge when he saw all of us in the room. He only knew Megan and me.

"Let's get you up to your room." Mom said slightly directing him to his room.

As they went down the hall I heard Trevor say, "but mom who are all of those people?" I didn't hear mom's reply.

"I can't believe this was kept from everyone." Zach said. "How could Borden keep that tape!" He demanded more then asked. That seemed to be the popular question since Borden came forward with that tape. And I think most of us who have heard his side of the story are still wondering.

"He said he was worried Vince would go after his own family." I answered.

"I'm sure he did Danny but Skylar never knew my dad. Dad never knew mom was pregnant. From what you've said you barely remember your father. How could anyone be so selfish?" I know he's talking about Borden again.

I don't think it was selfishness per se but I certainly wasn't going to tell Zach that. He certainly was right but I guess it could be viewed either way.

"Yeah I know." Brittney said. "Dad needed his help and he just kept the tape."

The doorbell rang. "Danny can you answer that?" Mom called.

I looked through the peephole first. I knew there was something I had been forgetting to do! I opened the door. "Hi Levi and Dave." I said letting my brother and his father in. I'm really glad dad's not here. I know that Dave and my dad hadn't gotten along. Though no one ever said it outright I have a feeling my parents had an affair. When I was younger I would go to Canada but never stayed at Megan's house. I always stayed at either Grandma Margaret's or Aunt Laurie's. As a kid I thought nothing of it but as I got older I started to realize something was up. And right now is definitely not the time to ask.

"Nancy here?" Dave asked coming in the house not even looking at me as he continued to walk.

"She's in the kitchen." I said.

He stopped and looked into the living room. His face became a shade paler but didn't say anything. He just kept walking.

I turned to Levi who was still standing in the entryway. He's really the rebel of the family. Even more then me who went against my wishes and started to train to become a pro wrestler.

Levi looked a lot like people did at the turn of the century. An earring and nose ring plus several tattoos and long hair. He works in a law office if you can believe that. I think he had set out to prove the stereotypes wrong. He usually wore his long blond hair in a ponytail.

I knew what he was probably going to say so I tried to deter that by asking, "what? No Emma Leigh?" Emma Leigh is his girlfriend. Two opposites that seemed to work. Though I didn't like her much.

"No she went with her friends to a spa." He looked into the living room at everyone that was gathered. "What's going on Danny?" He asked. He didn't even wait for me to answer. "I saw your dad's picture in the paper and in the article it said that you were almost shot."

I decided we might want to have this conversation elsewhere so we went outside. I saw Everett standing there looking at one of the windows. He gave me a slight nod when he saw I was looking at him.

"When were you going to tell me Danny?" He demanded as we were sitting on two of the chairs mom keeps on the porch.

"I had planned to tell you awhile ago but things kept coming up and I'd forget. I hadn't meant to keep you out of this." That was the truth. I really hadn't meant to keep Levi out of this.

"How long have you known your father wasn't dead?" That certainly was the popular question to ask when they find out dad's really alive.

"A couple months. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone at first. I wasn't even supposed to find out but did on accident."

He just shook his head. "I see mom and Megan know. Do Tatem and David know?" I nodded. "I guess I'm the last to know." He sounded hurt. But of course he did! He just found out he was the last person in the family to find out. "So how is your dad doing?"

"He's doing fine. He may be coming here later I'm not sure." I don't think anyone really knows at the moment. It certainly wasn't planned for me and Megan to go to mom's house.

"You show your dad the tattoo?" He asked. I'm glad Levi wasn't yelling at me. Levi's more laid back.

"Yep. Actually one of Shane McMahon's kids spotted it first. Dad said you did a great job on it."

He gave a small smile. "That's good to hear. When dad saw the article I swear he nearly had a stroke right then and there. I still can't believe you kept this from me. Keeping it from dad I understand. But why did you keep it from me and tell everyone else?"

"I really did mean to tell you Levi but something would come up and I'd forget. People calling and showing up and other stuff."

He nodded. "So how's training going? Dad said he saw you at that school in Kentucky."

"I haven't been back to training for awhile but it was going great."

"So what's everyone here for?" That certainly was a good question so I went for the truth. No reason to lie to him more.

"Vince's group issued some threats. They usually prefer to do it personally so I guess it's serious."

"Uncle Levi!" We heard a voice squeal we looked up and saw Misha running toward us. Levi picked her up and hugged her. We watched as Tatem got out of the car.

"Hey." She said greeting us pausing long enough to give Levi a hug. "When did you get here?"

"Not that long ago. Dad's here too." Levi said with a slight smile.

"Huh. That ought to be interesting. I just saw Chris, Eddy and some guy slip through the back door." Tatem said. Okay that can't be good.

"Maybe they won't tare into each other." Yeah I don't have that good of luck do I?

"I wouldn't count on it." Levi started to say.

CRASH!

"See?" He said as we hurried into the house. Everett right behind us. I didn't know whether to laugh or not at what I saw.

Michael was pinning Dave to the floor and dad was holding his jaw.

Okay like I said this can't be good.


	113. Past Pain

Notes: This chapter mentions a few things that happened in WCW back in the mid to late 90s that involved four of the characters.

Past Pain

"Someone want to tell me who this is?" Michael demanded not releasing his hold.

"That would be my first husband." Mom said standing next to the table. "He's harmless."

"After what happened to Athena I'm not taking any chances." Michael said letting go. "Why did he punch him?"

"Because they hate each other." Mom said. "I'm surprised he didn't do more."

"If I hadn't been tackled maybe I would have." Dave said folding his arms. "Now would someone explain how Chris is alive?"

"First let me take Misha out of here." Tatem said. That's a good idea. She is definitely too young to be hearing any of this.

Melanie Pillman also joined us. "I'd like to hear this too."

This could be very interesting if dad and Dave don't kill each other first. I noticed Michael made sure he was between dad and Dave. I guess he didn't have to be told twice that they hated each other.

"Let's set up some ground rules here first." Michael said. "I don't want you two going after each other." He said looking at Dave and dad. "I have enough to worry about between what's been happening to Danny and Athena and the trial. Two what is said in this room stays in this room. If you can't handle that then the conversation will not take place. You got it?"

"Got it." Everyone answered.

Eddy came back into the room with a bag of ice and handed it to dad who put it right on his jaw. I can guess what happened. Dave probably punched dad in the jaw as soon as he saw him. I guess what I've heard over the years is true. They certainly hadn't exaggerated.

"What I want to know is what happened fourteen years ago. I heard about Chris' death and have to find out the same way that he was actually alive, one of my kids told me. I may not like you Chris but you don't seem to be the kind of guy to abandon your family. Twice." Twice?

Dad looked at me before he said anything to Dave. I'm not, Dave. Believe me it wasn't my idea but I wanted to keep my family safe. There was a real chance that Vince could go after my family and I couldn't do that to them."

"Uh huh." Dave looked like he wanted to say something more but didn't. "How did you survive the powerbomb? I saw the match. Your neck looked broken to me. How?"

"Eddy found out what was going to happen to me and talked Goldberg into just making it look real and keep me alive. I was lucky he agreed to that. I'm lucky I can be with my family again. I wish I hadn't lost those fourteen years. I never saw my children grow up, graduate high school, David get married and have two children of his own." Dad sighed. "You could never begin to understand what it was like. It's not as simple as it sounds. I had wanted so much to call my family and tell them that I was alive but I couldn't. After what's been happening to Danny I realize just how far they would go."

Melanie sighed. "I wish you'd tell me that Brian was in hiding somewhere. Debra was telling me that they had two places. I wish Brian would just walk through the door. I miss him so much."

"I wish I could Melanie but he's not." Dad answered her. "I had wondered the same thing when I went into hiding."

"Wait a minute." Dave said. "Why would you need two places? Are there others in hiding?"

I saw dad, Eddy, and Michael look at each other as if unsure whether or not to tell Dave everything. I think I understand their reluctance. I mean Dave did just punch dad. Can we trust him not to flip out again?

"Wait a minute. Cassidy Austin's here. So is Steve alive?"

Dad sighed. "Yes he is."

Dave sat down in a chair almost looking speechless. "I can see how you survived a powerbomb now Chris but I can't imagine how someone could fall that far onto cement so you must be pulling my leg."

"No we're not." Eddy said rubbing his nose.

"So I guess you really are a druggy huh Eddy?" Dave asked. "I'm not surprised."

Eddy was out of his chair. "I don't do drugs Dave. I haven't for 15 years. I let the rumor slide because it gave me some cover for when I'd leave. I even had my family convinced. You are not one to question people Sullivan."

"I'm not the bad guy here Eddy. I'm the one that got Brian out of WCW remember? It's not my fault you all turned chicken and went to WWF."

Melanie looked up with fire in her eyes. "If it wasn't for your Brian wouldn't have been killed! You and your 'I respect you booker man'. If it wasn't for that Brian wouldn't have gotten hurt in a car accident and went to WWF where they killed him."

"So I made a mistake. It's not like I left my wife who just had a baby for another woman who was also married at the time."

Dad was up and in Dave's face. "Wasn't it you who booked your own divorce?"

I really wish I had some clue what they were talking about. Was that what I had imagined happened between my parents? Is that why they hated each other so much? Maybe I was finally finding out what no one would tell me. Megan had a look of confusion on her face too. Did Melissa ever tell her why they broke up?

"Maybe you two should take this in another room." Mom said. "There are two people who shouldn't be hearing this."

Now I know she was talking about Megan and me. "Mom I'm eighteen. Don't you think I should know by now about the affair you and dad had?"

The room was actually silent. Okay maybe that wasn't the most tactful way to ask that. Mom looked hurt.

"How did you know?" Dad asked. "Did you tell him?" He asked Dave.

"I didn't tell him anything."

"You think I never figured out why I couldn't stay at Melissa's when I was in Canada? Or why you and Dave hate each other? I'm not stupid."

"Oh Daniel. No one ever thought you were I just didn't want to tell you. I thought your father was dead so it didn't seem right to tell you about what happened between us. That and I didn't think you were old enough."

The room sort of sobered up though that's not to say Dave and dad didn't look like they were going to kill each other at any moment.

"Anyway." Dad said with a sigh after the whole story was finished. "We came to pick up Danny and Megan. Everything's settled down finally at the hotel. I didn't expect to run into you Dave. It was good seeing you again Levi. I'm going to go meet Misha." He said leaving the room.

That means we are leaving soon. I had really wanted to talk to the Pillman children. I wanted to know their take on everything.

"Hey isn't that Chris' necklace?" Someone asked. I looked up to see Melanie pointing at me. Oh yeah I was still wearing the necklace dad had given me.

"Yeah. Dad gave it to me."

"I gave Brian's to Brittany." Melanie explained. "I thought she'd want that."

"I've been looking for Chris' for years. Are you telling me Chris had his the whole time?" Mom asked.

Eddy nodded. "I pulled it out of Chris' bag. I thought he might want it. Didn't think anyone would notice. And I completely forgot Chris had it until Dean and Perry saw Danny wearing it in my office. I didn't even know they knew the story behind it. With everything that was happening why wasn't I surprised?"

I fingered the necklace. So it was sort of important. Maybe I'd find out the story on it.


	114. Deep Denial

Much shorter but hey I have no choice:

I opened my eyes and saw everything was really blurry. And t he room smelled horrible. I wonder where I am? Wherever it is it's really soft.

I tried to make my eyes focus on the room but wasn't having much luck. I could make out Mr....Scott standing in front of me with someone who looked somewhat familiar. My blurry eyes made it hard to tell who it was. "Where's dad?" I asked. I was met with silence at first.

"Scotty why is she asking for her dad?" A gravely voice asked. His voice was even rougher then Steve Austin's.

"She got hit in the head Mike. She's delusional."

"Since when do head injuries make people delusional? Even after I was knocked out for twenty minutes I wasn't delusional. Scotty what's going on?"

"It's just a head injury Mike. Forget about it."

I think I may have said the wrong thing in front of the wrong person. I have no idea where I am much less there are wrong people in the room.

"I want the truth Scott. Why is she asking for her dad? And don't tell me it's because he's alive because it sure sounds like it."

Smart guy whoever he is. I thought though I hope it's not one of Vince's group.

"That's right Michael." Uncle Bret said with a sigh. I guess he gave up on keeping up the charade.

"Holy shit." I heard someone sink into a chair. "I never expected to find this out when I decided to tag along with you Scotty."

"Athena I'd like you to meet one of my best friends, Michael Manna. He is a former WCW champ and does commentary on Nitro under the name of Stevie Richards. He also is too smart for his own good."

That's why he looked familiar! I remember seeing him on TV while watching the Nitro where Shane had returned.

"I don't really know Owen but I'm going to testify to make sure they don't try to pin any of this on Louie. He's not..."

"He's dead Mike. Sorry."

I heard an intake of breath. "Then they were try to pin some of it on him. He wouldn't have done that Scott!"

"I know that Mike and so does Eddy."

They must be talking about Louie Spicolli. I remember his name from when Eddy was explaining his Kliq theory.

"How are you feeling Athena?" Mom asked me as she walked up to the bed.

"My head and face hurt." I said reaching up to touch my forehead and found a bandage. "What happened and where am I?"

"You are in the hospital." Uncle Bret explained. "You had been attacked in the bathroom by Joanie Waltman at the courthouse."

I didn't remember that. I remember being at the courthouse. If this had been a couple of weeks ago, I'd expect mom to say I told you so. I don't think she will. Well at least I hope she doesn't!

"Miss Hart?" A voice asked from the doorway. I looked and saw a doctor. "My name is Dr. Adam York. I'm the doctor who examined you in the ER." He quickly explained. "I'm glad to see you are awake. How are you feeling?"

"My head and face hurt." I answered following his finger as he instructed.

"Well you have a mild concussion. We were able to remove the glass fragments from your face. Luckily none got in your eyes. I'd like to keep you overnight for observation and then you are to take it easy for a couple more days. I'll have a nurse bring you some pain medication in a few minutes." He left the room.

That's a relief, I guess. He wasn't much of a people person that wasn't for sure.

"Hi." A tentative voice said from the doorway. I looked up and saw Cam standing there. He walked slowly into the room. "Can I talk to Athena in private?"

"Who are you?" Mom asked turning around and eyed him warily.

"Cameron Hickenbottom."

"No." Mom said turning back to me. Mom's reaction was expected. She didn't know Cam and she heard his last name.

"I just want to talk to her is all." Cam said looking at me pleadingly.

I looked at Uncle Bret who sighed. "Let's get some coffee Martha." He said. "But Alex stays here." He said looking over at Alex who was sitting next to the door.

Everyone left the room except Alex and Cam. Mom was reluctant to leave the room. Uncle Bret sort of led her out.

"I can't believe this has been happening to you and Danny! First he's almost shot and then you are beaten up in a bathroom. I just can't believe it." He said shaking his head. "You met my dad so you know he's a nice guy." My heart really went out to him. He was in such denial over all of this. But Danny had already told me that he was. I'm kind of surprised Danny hasn't dropped by yet. I don't know what time it was or if it was the same day. No one has told me how long I was out. I wonder if this is how dad felt.

"Cam what Danny told you is the truth. He was there when they were planning to kill Danny. I heard them." I said not completely sure how Cam will take this.

"How do you know he wasn't just going along? Kevin Nash had the gun right? From what I've heard dad and Sean Waltman just stood there."

He was in such denial it hurt. How could someone be so blind to the situation? I guess I would be the same way if the roles were reversed. Who wouldn't? "Cam your dad did do it."

He sat down in the chair. "I heard the tape of Brian Pillman. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I mean Danny's dad and Steve Austin suddenly are back from the dead saying Vince McMahon had tried to kill them. And now everyone is pointing fingers at my dad saying that he killed Brian Pillman, and tried to kill Danny. It's all lies Athena."

He had no idea what his dad tried to do to Shane McMahon but I wasn't going to tell him for several reasons. The biggest reason being I know he wouldn't believe me. He won't believe he killed Pillman and tried to kill Danny. How can I expect him to believe his dad manipulated Vince into almost killing his own son? He'll hear it at the trial tomorrow. I believe that's when Shane is testifying.

"Joanie Waltman really attacked you?" Cam asked bringing my attention back to him.

"Yeah." I wish I had a mirror so I could look at my face, which felt like it was on fire. Then again maybe I don't want to see it. I bet it's not pretty. I thought absently reaching up to touch my face.

Cam shook his head. "Chris Benoit ruined my family." I had to bite back saying and your dad ruined his but I knew that would be the wrong thing to say. I wonder what it would take him to realize his dad isn't the saint he thinks he is. Then again maybe I don't want to know.


	115. Not Very Good at Hide and Seek

Just a little background on this story. The story title comes from a quote from the movie about John F Kennedy Jr. The line is: "You're your father's son". Also if you wonder why I have made the kliq a part of it but kept Louie Spicolli out of it there's a good reason. The first is I don't believe in speaking ill of the dead. The second is I know he was a good man. ---Dana

This is ALL Dana's fault. But it does answer some questions. - Jules

Not Very Good at Hide and Seek

I was crammed into the back of the car with Everett and dad. Megan's sitting up front with Eddy and Michael who's driving. Actually Uncle Eddy's on the pone with I'm not sure and he sounded agitated. I looked out the window. Where were we going? It certainly wasn't the way back to the hotel. Dad didn't seem worried though I was under the impression we were going back to the hotel. They did say it had calmed down there didn't they?

"Hey dad? Where are we going?" Megan asked turning around to face us. I was glad she was the one to ask that.

"I'm not sure. Michael where are we going?" Okay that worried me. Dad didn't know where we were going? What's going on here?

"We are waiting for a phone call to see where everyone's at." Michael answered turning the car left. I was not relieved at all.

"What do you mean no one's there?" Uncle Eddy practically yelled. Okay that didn't sound good at all. "Owen don't worry we'll be there as soon as we hear from the others. Michael, Chris, Everett, Danny, Megan, and me. They went with Tammy. Michael's idea. You hear about Athena? Uh huh. I better go in case they are calling us." Eddy hung up didn't put t he phone away.

"Eddy what's going on?" Megan asked. "I thought we were going back to the hotel."

"As you know things got crazy after Steve took the stand. Michael thought it would be best to split everyone up. That's why we sent you two to Nancy's. Tammy, Shane, and Marissa went in another car. And then Steve, Debra, Mark, and an agent went in a different one. Owen's freaking out at the hotel because no one has come back yet. We are waiting for the others to check in before we go back to the hotel."

I sighed. This could be a long wait. I kinda wish we had waited at moms but for obvious reasons we didn't.

"Hey dad." I asked figuring we had time to talk. "What does the necklace you gave me mean?"

"I guess I should have told you right away. I was surprised Eddy didn't know that Dean knew what it meant. He was a part of the group. WCW decided to split up the Four Horsemen. Brian and I were going to start our own group and call it the Rogue Horsemen. The group was to include Dean and Darren Matthews who wrestled as Steve and later William Regal. Brian and I were sort of put in charge of coming up with the symbol of the group. It was going to be on our tights and stuff. Brian came up with the necklace. I think he got the idea from when he and Steve Austin were a tag team called the Hollywood Blonds. They had a gold necklace that they wore on camera but then they split the team up. Steve wore the necklace on TV after Brian died."

He sighed. "But back to your necklace. Brian and I were the only ones who had it by the time Dave Sullivan got Brian out of WCW. I'm not quite sure why I had it in my bag in Atlanta. Maybe I did it out of fear I don't remember. But I was glad that Eddy took it for me."

"I wanted to grab something that I didn't think anyone would notice if it was gone. Didn't think Nancy would look for it. I forgot all about it until Dean saw you wearing it at the show. And then Dean saw Danny wearing it in my office. I should have known Dean would know what it was."

"I didn't even realize Dean saw me wearing it that night. I wore it so much I forget that I am." He sighed. "Who would have thought giving that to you would set a few things off. To me it was like Tommy giving me his boots. It was in a way handing down tradition."

Eddy's phone rang. "Hello? Oh. Hi Mr. Olsen" I could tell we were all disappointed. "A heart attack? And I thought you had to have a heart to have a heart attack. Yeah I figured. Well thanks for the news." He hung up. "That was the District Attorney. He had just gotten a phone call from the hospital Jarrett was taken to. He did have a heart attack. He won't be able to testify until he's out of the hospital. But the DA thinks that his reaction today spoke volumes. Doctors say he's not going to die and that it was just a minor one."

"He deserved worse." Dad said in a low cold voice. It was kind of scary. Though I had to agree. He helped try to kill Steve.

I saw Uncle Eddy give a small nod. Michael didn't say a word. Megan had a thoughtful look on her face and Everett was staring out the window.

The phone rang again. "Hello? Hi Kaley. No I'm just waiting for a phone call. Yeah Vicky and I plan to see you after the trial is over. I miss you too. Love you too. Bye." I know he had been talking to his youngest daughter. I wonder if she had known what her dad had been hiding. I had a feeling his other daughters did. "Michael let's go to Emory Hospital."

I saw Michael's face contort in what was probably confusion. "I don't know Eddy…"

"I think we are attracting more attention by driving in circles. Let's find somewhere to wait." He probably did have a point.

Michael sighed as he turned the car back the other way.

"Why don't we just go back to the hotel?" Megan asked. That was a good question.

No one answered. Either they were not telling us everything or it never occurred to them. I really hope it's the latter.

Michael dropped everyone off at the entrance to the hospital. We walked through the door. "Bret said she's in room 139." Uncle Eddy said as we walked down the hall.

Something caught my or rather someone. I was glad to see Uncle Eddy started to lead us quickly in another direction. I looked behind us and realized it wasn't quick enough. Well I think dad would be hard to miss.

"Eddy wait a second we are going the wrong way." Man my dad can be clueless sometimes.

"We are?" Eddy said pretending to just notice. "You know how all hospital corridors look the same."

Oh well we are too late to avoid this confrontation. I guess the only thing we can do is hope he doesn't kill him. I watched wearily as he came up to us.

"You are Chris Benoit right?" He asked. Man oh man I don't think I want to see this.

"Yes. You are?"

"Cameron Hickenbottom." The color drained from dad's face. I had never told him about my conversation with Cam. But Eddy seemed to have known. Did Everett tell him? I'm beginning to think he did.

"I'm kind of glad I ran into you. I'm friends with your son." Interesting. The way he acted yesterday you wouldn't have known."

Megan nudged me. I turned to her. "Shawn's son right?" She whispered. I nodded. There was a weird expression on her face. I made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"So you are the one who ruined my family's lives."

Dad took a step back as if he had been hit. "Excuse me?"

"My dad was arrested for attempted murder. But my dad would never do something like that. My dad is a loving man."

"Cameron." My dad started gently. "I was there when Danny was almost shot. I heard the message Brian Pillman left Steve Borden. I've heard other things he's confessed to. I know it must be hard to accept all of this but it's true. None of us would make something like this up. "I wish I could tell you it wasn't true but I can't."

Wow dad's taking this quite well. Though I don't think Cam will be convinced. It would be great if he were though.

"But my dad wouldn't do it!" Cam pleaded. "My dad didn't even know who Danny was." He stopped his face clouded. "He…he…" This looks like a good sign. But he just shook his head.

I had forgotten that Cam said he had overheard his dad talking about the attack before it happened. I think he's starting to realize things don't quite add up. He sat down on the floor in what could only be from shock.

I went up to him. "Cam it's all true."

"I swear my dad wouldn't kill anyone! He's not that way." He stared at something on the wall obviously not wanting to look at us. Dad looked uncomfortable. Not that I blame him. I'm sure he wasn't expecting to run into Cam at the hospital. None of us were.

"Wait a minute." Eddy said. He hadn't said anything at all during this. "Cam did you call Danny from your house when you called him?"

"Well the first time. The other time I was at my hotel why?"

"Damn it all. Why didn't we think of that?" Eddy asked. "Danny your cellphone was traced." He quickly explained to me. That really was the trouble with phones now. Anyone could trace any phone. That did explain a lot but how did they know I was staying at that hotel to begin with? I certainly hadn't called anyone at the Hickenbottom's with my phone.

Cam was looking at us with a wide-eyed expression. "No wonder Shawna came out of the den with a tape." He had tears in his eyes. "It's my fault."

"Cam it's not your fault!" Dad said. "You had no way of knowing they were tracing calls that went to and from your house. Maybe they thought you would call Danny. None of us thought of it even after your dad showed up at our hotel."

"My dad swore he didn't know you." Cam said turning to me. "But he talked to Sean on the phone about you. I never even thought anything of it. I'm an idiot."

"No Cameron you aren't an idiot. You had no way of knowing what your dad had done." Dad was probably the best choice for this conversation. "I wouldn't have known if it hadn't happened to me."

"It just feels like things have gone badly ever since me, Danny, and Athena were all at Kemper." I felt like shrinking and hiding in the corner. Athena and I had never mentioned to anyone that she had also been at Kemper. Since it had been my idea I didn't want her to get in trouble. Dad and Uncle Eddy are both giving me a look. I looked down. "I saw them both leave quickly and then Hunter and Stephanie asked me if I knew Danny. I didn't know why they wanted to know."

Megan was staring at Cam. I have to remember to ask her what that was all about. I'm guessing she probably saw him at RAW but wouldn't she have known who it was? Hell I don't know anymore.

Cam walked past us but stopped and turned around. "Mr. Benoit I'm sorry about what I said about you ruining our family. I know it was dad who did it himself." He walked slowly back the way he came.

"Once Athena's up to it we are going to have a talk about how stupid going to Kemper was." Uncle Eddy said as we walked the correct way to Athena's room. That was a conversation I wasn't looking forward to having.

I turned to Megan. "How do you know Cam?" I asked.

She blushed. "The Helmsleys had talked about setting us up on a date. They said they heard Cameron had been dating some girl in OVW and his parents weren't one bit happy."

And they hadn't even known it was Athena! "Don't tell Athena that." I said with a grin. Megan smiled obviously understanding.

"I swear you guys must be the worst hide and go seek players I have ever seen." I grinned as I turned around to see Debra, Mark, Steve, and an agent standing there looking at us. You know what? He had a point.


	116. Not His Father’s Son

Notes: This chapter just about goes everywhere. So brace yourselves it gets kind of quick in this chapter. This fic has had a lot more comedy then usual. It also has a very dark side to it. I told Jules it was her fault for letting me write it!

Not His Father's Son

As we walked to Athena's room they filled us in. "We called Michael and he said you were here. Seems you left your cell in the car Eddy." Mark said. Eddy patted his pockets and looked a little sheepish. "We were in the area so we came in here. Get a little lost?"

"Trying to avoid a problem but it's okay now." Uncle Eddy said watching Cameron walk out the front door.

"That's good." Michael said coming up to us. "I haven't heard from Tammy yet but they should be calling any minute now." I bet he's feeling a little anxious. "Let's go see Athena and get out of here."

I noticed the nurses were eyeballing us as we walked down the hallway and to room 139. I peered in and saw Athena was talking to her mother so I tentatively came in. She smiled when she saw us. "I didn't think you guys were coming."

"We were in the area." Eddy said with a laugh.

"Cam just left." Athena said looking at dad. I guess he probably said the same thing to her that he had said to me at Everybody's Pizza.

"We ran into him. He finally knows his dad did it. Course it was after we figured out how they knew what floor we were on." Dad said with a thoughtful look on his face. "Seems like a nice kid though."

"He is." Uncle Eddy said. "But that's it. No more cell phone calls from our hotel."

"A little late don't you think?" Mark asked. We all laughed.

"How are you doing Athena?" Debra asked sobering us up a little bit.

"I'm fine. Just a concussion. They got all the glass out. They're just keeping me overnight."

A phone rang and Michael handed the phone to Eddy who waved it away. "It's probably your wife."

Michael smiled before walking out of the room to answer it.

"Oh Michael Manna knows everything." Athena said.

"How did? No wait I don't think I want to know. Scotty'll probably call me about it later." Dad said rubbing his eyes. "Man I'm tired."

"Getting old huh Chris?" Uncle Eddy said.

"I'm only 16 and a half months older then you Guerrero!"

"Sure. We'll take you back to the hotel so you can get some sleep. Old people need their rest." Eddy turned away. Dad stuck his tongue out. I had to laugh. I don't think I've seen them interact this way. "Mike didn't faint did he? People tend to do that when they find out about Owen." He looked over at dad.

"No he's the one who figured it out. I asked for dad when I first woke up not knowing where I was. I hadn't realized he was in the room. He took it well though he said they would blame it on Louie Spicolli?"

"We are trying to keep that from happening. I knew Louie well enough to know he wouldn't have done that. I'm going to call Mike when I get my phone back and I'll talk it over with him."

A nurse came in. "I'm sorry. Visiting hours are over. They start again at 7 am. But I understand that you have requested a couple of people to stay in this room with her. That's fine I suppose."

Martha stood up. "I'd also like to stay with her."

"Mom I'm okay. Go to the hotel and sleep."

"No I'm staying here."

Michael stuck his head in the room. "That was Tammy they are heading back to the hotel. They got lost. Like the rest of us it seems."

"Mom go back to the hotel I'm fine!"

This was almost like watching a ping-pong match with how it was going back and forth. Eventually Athena gave up and Martha ended up staying the night.

It was not a quiet ride back to the hotel as the teasing between dad and Uncle Eddy continued. It was actually a lot of fun to listen to. But when we got back to the hotel we were reminded about something.

Tomorrow Shane McMahon was taking the stand and security was being doubled. Not for our safety but would you believe Michaels' because they are worried Vince will kill him. Was that such a bad thing?

Guess we'll find out tomorrow.

* * *

I sat next to dad the next day. Austin was on the other side of dad and Everett was next to me. We weren't quite sure how Vince was going to take this but we were anxious to see it.

Vince had his usual cold expression on his face. He really hasn't shown too many emotions during the trial. I bet he does today! Owen's testifying tomorrow and mom's testifying today. Eddy said she didn't mind the switch too much. Shane was going first.

When Shane took the stand Vince's attention was directed towards him. Triple H kept casting looks back at dad. Stephanie looked bored. And Michaels looked like he wanted to shrink down far into his seat.

As Shane spoke I looked at Vince who was now glaring at Michaels. Michaels seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable. Vince looked like he was going to be sick when he watched the video that Shane received. I'd never seen the tape but I can't imagine what was going through Shane's mind when he watched that video not knowing a single thing about what his dad and done.

Vince seemed so shaken up by this that he didn't even have his attorney's cross examine Shane! As soon as Shane left the stand Vince stood up. The officers escorted Shane quickly out of the room and more were trying to keep Vince away from Shawn. It was almost funny. Almost.

Judge Arspringer recessed the trial for fifteen minutes.

I was standing there next to dad who was talking to Shane as the District Attorney came up to us. "Vince McMahon is demanding that he be allowed to talk to you Shane. Judge Arspringer does not like the idea but she said under the circumstances she'd allow it if you agreed to it. He's pretty much flipping out right now."

"Mr. Olson I don't think that would be a good idea…" Dad said.

"No no he's not flipping out about Shane. He's flipping out about Michaels. You two can be in there also if you want." He said looking at me and dad. Yeah I'm really sure Vince would be okay with dad in there. But then again didn't Goldberg say Helmsley's the one that hated dad?

"You want to come Chris?" Shane asked.

Dad shrugged. We followed Mr. Olson into a conference room that was off of the courtroom. Vince was sitting there with several cops. He looked up when we entered. "Have a seat Shane." But Shane remained standing. "You really didn't know?"

"No dad I didn't. How would I? I was either on the road with WCW or at home in Atlanta. I didn't keep track of the WWF."

"Oh God. I believed Michaels. He made it so convincing that you knew. He said he ran into you at a bar in Atlanta and you were on the phone with Marissa." Vince put his head in his hands. "I almost had you killed. I swore that I would never allow anything to happen to you or your mother. I came so close to having it happen."

Shane didn't say anything. He just stood there staring at Vince.

"Maybe that's why I had changed my mind about doing it. I couldn't do it. I was relieved when your mother called and said your phone had been disconnected and that she had Page go check your house and found it empty. I was so glad that I forgot that you might have gone to the police. Shane I'm sorry. If I could take it back now I would."

I looked at dad. He looked as confused as I felt. Did Vince just say he wasn't going to kill Shane and Marissa? Was he saying that as a way to make himself feel better?

Shane sat down. "Dad how could you do it to any of us?"

"Revenge."

Oh man I hope someone has a tape recorder. Vince just confessed that he did it.

"Why me Vince?" Dad asked. "I never did anything to you. Why did you allow Hunter to plot my murder?"

vince sighed. "There was no way to talk Hunter out of it. He was adamment. He used the fact that I had been having him do my dirty work for years and I owed him one. I couldn't argue with that." Vince looked down. "I didn't want to kill you. I had been trying for six months to get the title on you which infuriated Triple H to no end. I finally said do what you want Hunter. I think he was happier when he found out Nancy and her daughter were in the audience."

I nearly ran out of the room right then. This was hard to hear. I can't believe I'm actually hearing this. He's talking so candidly about his son in law being happy that it would happen in front of my mom and sister!

"I'm sorry Chris." He said looking at dad. I looked at dad who was crying. "I don't know why Hunter hated you so much." He looked at me. "Or your son. I guess it's a good thing things stopped before it did happen."

I blinked. I stared at Vince and didn't even notice the look dad gave Everett. "Daniel it's time for you to leave." He said quietly to me.

I just nodded and let myself be led out of the room. I sat on a bench.

I was next?


	117. Shell Shocked

This picks up right were the last chapter picked off with Danny dealing with some of the revelations made in that chapter - Juliet

All Jules-Dana

_Chapter 117_

_Shell shocked_

As soon as I got out of that meeting room where Dad, Shane McMahon and I met with Vince McMahon I just sat on a bench towards the back of the courtroom pretty much shell shocked by what Vince admitted in there.

I was next.

I was the next to die.

I guess maybe it should come as no big shock to me given how much trouble me and Athena had gotten into since going to Kemper Arena a few months ago, but honestly, with everything that was going on, it never entered my mind that Hunter would really try to kill me. I was more worried about my sister, who had buddied up to the McMahon's before she found out the truth than I was about myself.

I felt somebody come up to me. I really hope it's a bailiff or Dad and not anybody else I know. I really don't think I could lie if somebody asked me how I was without telling them what Vince said in that meeting room. I'm not sure what would be the reaction say, my Uncle Ric or Eddie would have to knowing that Hunter wanted me dead. I certainly don't want to know what Mom would do to Hunter given that she punched Eric Bischoff twice when she learned his involvement in this whole mess. I look up; it's Eddie.

"Danny, you okay?" Uncle Eddy asked.

"Peachy, considering I just learned I was targeted for murder by the Helmsleys," I said, before I could stop myself from revealing that in front of Eddie.

I didn't think Uncle Eddie's face could ever turn so simultaneously pale and red at the same time and I could tell he was trying not to burst out into Spanish. He grabbed my shoulder lightly and led me out of the courtroom, giving Helmsley a look that would probably kill if it could. We sat down on some benches in a remote area of the courthouse.

Eddie sighed. "Danny, what went on in there before you left?" he asked.

I told him about what went on in there, from Vince expressing guilt about believing Michaels' lie about Shane, to Hunter hating me and about getting arrested stopped whatever Helmsley had planned for me. Eddie placed a hand on my arm, and I hadn't realized I'd been shaking until he did that.

"God, I hate being right," Eddie, muttered.

"You knew!?" I asked, maybe a bit too loudly because Uncle Eddie winced a little.

"Nothing for sure; nothing concrete, but I had a feeling Hunter might try something after you got kidnapped and I got to see the RAW where you two, you and Athena, went to Kemper," Eddie gave me a look at that last. I wonder if he's had a chance to talk to Athena about that yet. I hope nobody tells the Harts. I don't want her in any more trouble than she already is with Eddie. "My first real clue was when Vince tried to foster Hunter as a guest trainer, breaking an agreement I had with him not to ever have Hunter as a guest trainer."

"That's the real reason you sent me home when Michaels came isn't it." It wasn't a question, but Eddie nodded anyways.

"I was afraid that, despite it being Michaels, about something happening to you. There was no way to know where Helmsley was even though it was Michaels officially there instead of Hunter. Knowing Hunter, there wouldn't be anytime to arrange anything so that nothing happened to you and after Nancy yelled my ear off the night before you got back to OVW from your flu, I didn't want to hurt her with news of you being hurt or worse. Though Dean told me her reaction was a bit worse than what I got."

"We already figured that Vince wouldn't do anything to Athena with Bret around, which is why after I got Michaels as guest trainer, I asked Bret to stop by as an advisor. Kinda risky given, Michaels and Bret's history, but if Vince knew Bret was actually there, he would hold off on anything bad happening to Athena. There was no guarantee I could keep you safe even if Cam was your friend there's some suspicion that Michaels didn't know about Stephanie and Hunter planning your Dad's death until after the fact. I think if it had been Hunter alone with you that night at Daytona Beach, you would've probably gotten more than just restrained by Johnson and Michaels. We don't even know if Johnson had a clue about everything the McMahons had done over the years. But I felt you were safer at Nancy's until at least Michaels' week was up."

I nodded. It made sense, now that I really think about it even though I was pissed at the time. I really thought Uncle Eddie was acting like I couldn't take care of myself with Michaels around but now I realize he probably saved my life by sending me home. I have to wonder though what would've happened if I had stayed that week.

"If Vince doesn't turn on Hunter, can we just keep what Vince admitted about whatever Hunter might have had in mind in me away from Uncle Ric, and Mom? I don't think that would be good for anybody," I said as me and Eddie got up to go back into the courtroom.

"I think Ric will probably be your Dad's call, but I think we can all agree to keep it from your mother provided it doesn't come out in court," Eddie said.

As we came back to the courtroom there was a sudden uproar, and people at the entrance.

"What's going on?" I asked as Cassidy Austin came up to us.

"Somebody tried to kill Hunter Hearst Helmsley!" She exclaimed.

As we watched Hunter was holding his now bloody nose. An olive skinned man was being handcuffed and led away to another room in the courthouse. The man spit on Helmsley on his way out.

I started to ask Eddie, but the judge banged her gavel and announced yet another fifteen minute recess.

I think I'll leave the who beat up Helmsley as a mini cliffhanger for at least until 118.

runs


	118. Blind Trust

This is a little different from what I originally planned it to be. There will probably be at least one side story that's based upon the early part of this chapter. - Juliet

ADDITIONAL NOTES: For the record, Bret Hart wasn't at the courthouse during chapters 116 - 118.

Just a heads up: I'll be in Mexico during holy week in March so we'll try to get as much as we can. Nice job Jules-Dana

_118_

_Blind Trust_

The courtroom was a bit of chaos after Helmsley was attacked. Can't really say I feel sorry for him. It WAS kinda like getting some of his own medicine. I finally recognized who his attacker was though. He was Dwayne Johnson, who had wrestled as The Rock for Vince. He helped HBK and Helmsley restrain me in Daytona. But like Uncle Eddie had said, there was no way of knowing if Johnson knew of everything Vince had done or not. Considering he nearly cold - cocked Helmsley, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Court was recessed for another 30 minutes after Johnson attacked Hunter. When Shane McMahon and Dad came out of the meeting with Vince 15 minutes into the recess, we had to explain to the two confused men what was going on; and why Helmsley was suddenly sporting a broken nose.

Austin came out near the end of the recess. Dwayne Johnson was lead out of the courthouse, but I noticed he wasn't in handcuffs. Austin was talking to Erichson. I didn't know what was being said. Court readjourned a few moments later.

Mom was the first on the stand after court resumed. Again, Vince didn't have his attorney cross examine her, but given what I heard from Vince before I left the room, I wasn't surprised. I testified after Mom and I was cross examined though I'd expected that all along. I did as well as I could and I'm glad we were prepared for it beforehand. Even so it wasn't as brutal as I thought it would be and as others had gone through. Maybe Vince did feel guilty over what Hunter had done to my Father.

When court adjourned for the day Austin was again talking to Erichson, and this time Uncle Eddie was involved in the conversation. I wondered what was going on but I was still weirded out by what I'd heard Vince say to really ask about it or anything. I briefly talked to Mom and told her I wasn't feeling too good (Well it wasn't totally a lie, I was still sick to my stomach over what I heard in that room), and told her I'd talk to her tomorrow before court. I hated lying to her but I really really didn't want to find out what she'd do to Hunter if I'd told her the man wanted me dead.

Dad came up to me. "Ready to go"

"More than ready" I answered. I was more than ready to put this day behind me. I really wasn't looking forward to court tomorrow. Eddie came up to us.

"Steve talked to Rocky, he thinks that we should meet with him at the hotel" Eddie said.

Dad sighed. "Steve tell Rocky about Owen"

Eddie nodded. "Steve said his reaction to that was comic. Eyes bug out just like he used to do in the WWF."

I expected something of a protest from Dad, but"There are somethings he might need to hear about this whole mess."

Eddie looked suspicious. "That's what's Shane said" he said"let me find a quiet spot to call Owen and tell him Rock's coming in addition to us. Danny told me what Vince said about Hunter. What else happened in there after Danny left"

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's for another conversation" he said"but some of it will come out tonight."

Eddie nodded. He went to find a secluded spot to call Owen.

Part of me wanted to ask Dad myself what happened after I left. But another part of me suddenly didn't want to find out what else Vince had done. Knowing Hunter wanted to kill me was almost too much to take.

When we got back to the hotel, Erichson was already there with Dwayne Johnson. I hadn't even realized he'd left before we had. He must have left as soon as he finished his conversation with Steve Austin and Uncle Eddie. Owen was there too but Bret, Martha, and Owen's son Oje weren't. Then I realized they must be at the hospital with Athena. Almost everybody else was assembled.

Johnson took a deep breath before he began. "Look I honestly didn't know what was going on with Vince. Everybody knows me and Steve were, and hopefully, still are, friends for years, and I had nothing against Owen or Chris. I wouldn't do anything to willingly hurt anybody and damn sure wouldn't help kill Steve."

Dad looked like he wanted to open his mouth, but Johnson anticipated him"Steve and I cleared the air about the time surrounding his walkout, but I'll try to explain for everybody else here. Basically Vince told me to say what I did the night Steve walked out. When I balked, he said that it would risk the chances of burning bridges completely with Steve and the company if I said something, hoping Steve would see it as simply storyline and not personal rather than if Triple H said it. Of course thinking back on that now, it's probably not the real reason he asked me to do it."

"Probably wanted to ruin our friendship" Steve's gruff voice answered"Vince always was into the divide and conquer stuff."

"Tell me about it" Owen snorted. I'd heard from various people how there was infighting among the Hart family after Owen 'died.' I wonder if Vince, not orchestrating, perhaps played a hand in festering things in the Hart family.

"Anyway" Johnson continued"me and Steve cleared the air about most of that stuff when he got back. We managed to patch up most of the stuff, and managed to work in the match at SummerSlam that ended the brand split. Then came Survivor Series."

"I was going to wrestle Randy Orton in what Vince had billed as the battle of the third generation stars. It was third after Benoit Vs Sting and the Scaffold match. Vince had him next in line for title grooming."

"Helmsley wasn't happy about that" Steve groused. "Didn't he try to horn in on that match? Make it a triple threat"

Johnson snorted"Yeah, he did. Vince really really put his foot down to let the match go as planned. Neither Hunter or Stephanie were too happy about it. Course I'm not sure if it was just simple jealousy, the fact that my match had a higher spot on the card than his, or that Vince had him job out to Raven as the PPV opener. Surprised he didn't do much else to sabotage the whole thing. Of course, no one, not even me thought that it was my last match, until Steve died."

"After Steve died, I was done in the ring. I wrestled Undertaker in a memorial match for Steve and that was it. I showed up occasionally as a favor to Vince, but I never wrestled again."

"What about Daytona? What about restraining my son and helping Vince get WCW off the air" Dad asked with an edge to his voice.

Dwayne Johnson winced. I guess he had a feeling this was going to come up.

"Again, Vince asked me too. He said it was business and he was taking back WCW since it didn't seem that Shane was coming back to claim it. Old man got a big surprise on that score I guess. But he said Me, Hunter, and Shawn was to restrain whomever was helping them out with hijacking WWF's broadcast. I swear, Chris, I didn't know it was your son and I didn't do anything beyond restrain him."

"It's the truth Dad" I said quietly. It was the first time I'd really spoken since I'd talking to Eddie about what Vince said.

"Vince said he was asking a favor. I don't know something in his eyes told me it was more than that if he wanted me to help Helmsley and Michaels."

Dad pinched his nose again. "It probably was Rock" Dad sighed.

"Let's just say we got some information from Vince, that makes us believe Danny's life might have been in danger if you hadn't been with Helmsley and HBK at Daytona" Shane McMahon said. Uncle Eddie had a grimness to his face; Dad gave Uncle Ric a look that clearly said "Explain later." At that moment Bret, Martha, Oje, and Athena came in.

"What's going on" Athena asked confused. I wondered if she was still feeling the effects of what Joanie Laurer had done to her.

"Martha, take Athena to you and Owen's room. Me and Owen will be in to check on how she's doing." Martha Hart took Athena to the room she and her husband shared. Oje went with them. Bret sat down, making it clear he was joining the conversation.

"I'm with Athena, what's going on" Bret asked point blank.

"Rocky here was explaining, that he knew nothing of what Vince did to everybody" Austin explained. Short and to the point.

Bret snorted. "Surprised Vince or Hunter didn't try to kill you as well" he said.

"Hunter wanted to" Shane stated.

Well, nobody was prepared for THAT bombshell.

"Uh, Shane, what did you say" Rock stuttered somewhat.

"From what Vince said, Hunter wanted you AND Benoit dead. You retired after Survivor Series and rendered that a moot point. Dad said that he thought your death would just raise too many eyebrows with everybody but there maybe more than that."

"The bloodlines" Johnson said.

"Exactly" Shane agreed. Bret Hart, Uncle Eddie and Chavo nodded knowingly, as did Dad and a few others.

I must have had the most confused expression on my face, so they decided to explain.

"For a lot of families, wrestling was and to some, still is a family business. It was never unheard of for the sons of famous wrestlers to follow in their dad's footsteps like you're doing now. There have been whole families where wrestling has been all it's known" Eddie said. "It was only in our generation that third generations have shown up"

Shane continued"The main families, have included mine, The McMahons, which was build the WWF with my grandfather, and later my father and my sister at the helm; the Harts, the Guerreros, the Runnels, the Jarretts, the Von Erichs, the Funks and the Somoan lineage, which Dwayne belongs too. All of those familles at one time or another worked for my family and the WWF. There are very few of those families left today actively participating in the business."

"That reminds me" Chavo broke in"Eduardo wants to join OVW next year after he graduates high school."

Eddie groaned. "Great, now I have to not only keep Danny and Athena out of trouble, but I have to keep my nephew's kids out of trouble as well."

Everybody laughed, Bret looked a little confused and I hoped Eddie didn't decide to tell him right then about Kemper. But the moment of levity passed and things got serious again.

"But anyways, there was always a connection with all those familes. The Samoan wrestlers may perhaps be the most tied to Vince" Shane continued.

"My Grandfather worked for Vince's Dad, and my father worked for both father and son. I joined the business in '95 and debuted in the WWF the following year, never really considered going anywhere else. Suppose you could say it was in the blood" Johnson interjected.

"That may have been why Vince, even though you were loyal to the company through and through, didn't want you involved in any of his more lethal schemes. In a strange way he probably considered you just as much family as he did me or Mom because of your family's longevity in the business. That may have been why he didn't want Hunter to get his way on killing you" Shane explained.

Nice to know Vince would go out of his way to prevent Hunter from killing somebody who had bloodties in this business but he wouldn't try to figure out something to save my father!

"That may explain what happened after Survivor Series" Johnson said with a sigh.

"What happened after Survivor Series" this was from Steve Austin.

"I went to Vince to tell him I was done. Much like JR and Undertaker had done. Given what I just heard Vince probably knew Hunter wanted me dead next, but at the same time knew I was too valuable to the company to lose completely. So he struck a deal with me. If I would do occasional guest appearances, promos only, but the possibility of having a match or two had been implied, then he'd let my contract expire in December of '04 and we'd do things on more of an honor system from then on. I don't think Vince was ever going book me into a match after Survivor Series and I think he figured I wouldn't go anywhere else at that point, not with my movie career taking off at that point. So I agreed to it. When my contract ran out we went to an honor system, and I never did sign another official contract with the company. Bastard probably knew what was coming if I stepped into the ring again."

There was a bit of silence after that. I understand that. It is kind of hard to process the fact that your marked for death by an obsessive jackass.

Everybody started talking about other stuff that really didn't have nothing to do with the trial, or I felt me, so I went to check on Athena and found that she was asleep. I made a mental note to talk to her in the morning and give her a heads up on Dad, Erichson and Eddie knowing about her being at Kemper. It was only fair. I went into my own room to try and get some rest.

I never got to sleep that night.

Okay Dana, ball's in your court.


	119. Nightmares

Thanks to three muses (Jules decided I needed help) here's 119

Nightmares

_I headed to the bathroom. I had just finished using it when I heard the door open and close. I didn't look up to see who it was. Suddenly I heard a click._

_Strange I thought. Must be a stall door. I turned around to head for the sink and came face to face with Hunter Hearst Helmsley. I now knew what the click was. Shit!_

_He was standing there blocking the door so I couldn't leave. I eyed the gun that Helmsley had pointed at me._

_"You've become a real problem Danny boy and I always get rid of problems." He cocked back the gun. I closed my eyes. It hit me knocking me back against the wall._

"Danny wake up!" Someone was shaking me. I tried swatting them away and hit something.

"Damn it Danny wake up."

I opened my eyes and found myself not lying on the floor in a bathroom but in a bed with my dad and Uncle Eddy staring down at me. I realized I hit Eddy. Oh man that nightmare had felt so real. My hands were shaking. Uncle Eddy left the room. Dad sat on the edge of t he bed patting my foot. Uncle Eddy came back into the room with a glass of water. I took it from him shakily. I think my hands are shaking more then they had at the hospital.

"You want to talk about it" Dad asked. I started to shake my head. Did I really want to tell them about the nightmare? I was shaking enough as it is. Did I want to worry them"Eddy and I could hear you from the next room."

I guess I had been loud. "I had a nightmare is all." Uncle Eddy and dad nodded. I guess it was pretty obvious. I handed the empty glass back to them. I was still a little bit shaky. I could see they were waiting for me to tell them what it was about. I drew in a deep breath before I began. "I was in the bathroom at the hospital. But instead of Nash, Waltman, and Michaels it was just Helmsley with a gun and this time I was shot."

Dad's face got bright red. Eddy looked like he was going to burst too. I was surprised he didn't go into a Spanish tirade like he usually does when he gets angry but he remains silent. That's why I didn't want to tell them. It's not like they can do anything. Poor dad looks like he wants to punch something. Or probably someone.

Dad sighed. "That's one of the reasons I'm still awake. I had a nightmare that you had been shot right in front of me and there was nothing I could do. I was talking to Eddy about it. How's your jaw Eddy" Dad asked turning towards Uncle Eddy who was rubbing his jaw.

"I'll live. I suppose its payback from when I punched you at the cabin." He said looking at me.

I gave a small smile. I had forgotten about that. It kind of was whether I knew it at the time.

"You hit him!" We all turned around to see Uncle Ric standing in the doorway. He had a bathrobe on and looked like he had just woken up.

Uncle Eddy took a step backwards. He looked like he wanted to climb out the window. "Yes. But Ric…" he didn't get any further before Ric threw him into a wall. It would have been hilarious under other circumstances.

"Hasn't he been through enough?" Ric asked glaring at Uncle Eddy.

"Look Ric you don't know what was going on. I was just trying to get him to leave. He was at the cabin. And that could have meant trouble, which it eventually did. I didn't know how to handle the situation."

"So you punch him? And what's this about his life being in danger?"

I cringed. Oh boy. I doubt Uncle Ric really wants to hear this.

Dad sighed. "After Shane took the stand Vince was demanding to be allowed to talk to Shane. Danny and I went in with him. Vince talked about how Hunter was the one who had wanted me dead and that he tried to talk Helmsley out of it but gave up. Then he mentioned that Hunter hated Danny and that it was good that it stopped before Hunter could kill Danny."

Uncle Ric went pale for a second before his face became beat red. "I'll kill him myself. I can't believe I had been friends with Helmsley. He's a real bastard." He was still glaring at Uncle Eddy. "It still doesn't get you off the hook for punching Danny."

"I'm sorry I did it. I lost my cool and I was scared. I had a feeling things would blow up if they stayed around. I was right. But at least it turned out okay." He sighed. "I think."

Dad sighed too. "Eddy and I were talking about how Vince would react when Owen takes the stand later. We know he's going to flip out but given everything that's happened it could be dangerous. "Even more dangerous then it has been." He turned to look at me. "Danny I want you and Megan to stay here. I'm going to call Nancy and advise her not to go to the trial either."

"I still don't think you should go either Chris." Eddy said. "Security's going to be tight but it still could be dangerous."

"Aren't we playing into their hands by not coming? They've been trying to scare us." Ric asked. He had a point. I decide to go to the bathroom and get dressed. I doubt any of us are going back to sleep.


	120. Third Strike

Chapter 120 muses weren't much help but I'm trying. This is dedicated to all the wrestler death anniversaries that were this week (last week).

Third Strike

I was exhausted when we went to the trial later that day. I didn't go back to sleep and stayed up talking with dad, Uncle Eddy and Uncle Ric. Uncle Ric and dad had convinced Uncle Eddy that whoever wanted to go to the trial should be able to go with the exception of Athena. It seems she's on bed rest for the next couple of days. I plan to tell her about everyone knowing she was at Kemper later today.

From what Bret told us Athena was not happy about not being allowed to hear her father testify. I can sympathize. I wasn't allowed to hear my dad testify although they were for different reasons. I still wonder what dad didn't want me or Megan to hear. I hope I find out soon.

I had done a good job of avoiding mom. I'm still afraid I'll accidentally tell her what Hunter had said. I know she'll freak more then I did. It'll confirm her fears about me in the business. Which really isn't that far off base come to think of it.

As I stepped into the courtroom I noticed there were a lot of cops around the defense table. Shawn and Vince were sitting as far apart from each other as possible. I tensed slightly as I saw Hunter Hearst Helmsley look our direction.

Instead of sitting near the Prosecutor's table dad, Everett, Megan and I sat in the back of the courtroom. It seemed that they thought it was the best place for us. Today was going to be interesting that was for sure.

Judge Arspringer entered looking wary. I wonder if the trial was getting to her. The jury looked tired. But boy were they going to get a shock when Owen comes in. It's definitely a good thing that the press wasn't allowed in the courtroom.

"Mr. Olson your next witness?" Judge Arspringer said.

"Thank you your honor. Our next witness is Owen Hart."

As was expected the courtroom went into a frenzy. Vince spun around and glared in our direction. Stephanie looked like she was about to hyperventilate. Triple H was turning and looking at the door that Owen would soon enter through.

"Please show Mr. Hart in." The judge instructed the bailiff.

He did so. Police officers quickly surrounded the Defense table obviously to make sure they didn't attack anyone, which was good because Vince was on his feet along with Shawn Michaels.

"You are supposed to be dead! You were supposed to pay just like the rest of your family has!" Stephanie yelled jumping to her feet.

I could almost hear Hunter whisper, "Shut up Stephanie." The officers somehow got them to sit down again.

I listened to Owen testify about how he was pressured into doing the stunt. He also mentioned the fact that Max Mini was almost in the stunt but he had made sure that he wasn't involved. And then he was cross-examined. I think we were all grateful for the police officers that had surrounded Vince, Hunter, Shawn, and Stephanie. After he got off the stand he came over and sat next to Bret.

After Owen testified Bret went then Earl Hebner then we broke for lunch. I think today has been going well so far. Dad, Owen, and Steve went into the judge's chambers to talk to her. I noticed Uncle Eddy was talking to Michael Manna. I went over to listen out of interest.

"Look Mike," Uncle Eddy was saying. "Louie was a friend of mine. I can tell you we won't be trying to finger him for anything. We know he didn't do anything."

Mike sighed. "I hope so Eddy. It's been twenty years but he never would have done it. He was only in the group because he was friends with Waltman and Hall. He was my best friend. I would have known something."

Mike turned and looked at me. "I had no idea you were Chris Benoit's son when we were in Daytona Beach. Hey thanks for keeping us informed."

"No problem." I said with a grin.

"I'm glad they are alive." Mike said. "I do wish I knew what Shane was going to do with the companies. It's been ten years since Shane ran WCW. Dustin had a different way of running it and I know Shane can't run both companies at the same time."

"I don't even know what I'm doing with the companies yet Mike." Shane said joining us. "I have a few ideas but nothing for sure. Before he gave me WCW, Vince was trying to push me out of the company. I was doing lesser meaning jobs. When he gave me WCW I had thought he was testing me. But I know he wasn't. He was keeping me out of his evil planning." Shane sighed. "Once the trial's over I'm going to sit down and figure out what to do with the companies. Right now I'm focused on the trial."

"Daniel!" I turned around. I guess I could no longer avoid her. "You okay? You look tired."

''I'm okay mom. I just didn't get any sleep last night." I hope she doesn't ask me why. "How's Trevor doing?"

"He's doing better. He goes back to school Monday. You sure you're okay? You look really pale. I know that you said you weren't feeling well yesterday."

"Mom I'm fine."

She sighed. "Your dad told me about what Hunter said yesterday. God I want to strangle him myself. That man would stoop at nothing to get revenge. When I think about Megan…" I nodded I knew what she meant. "I hope he gets put away for the rest of his life!" She sighed. "Daniel just be really careful." She said flashing a look at Everett before she walked over to Debra. I guess I now didn't have to worry about trying to keep it from mom.

After the trial adjourned for the day I knew I had better tell Athena about what Cam said. The Defense would start calling witnesses Monday. This could get really interesting. I wonder whom they would call up.

I went to the room Athena shares with Megan and gently knocked. "Come in!"

I stepped in and saw that Athena was propped up in bed watching some TV show. Thankfully no one else was in the room at the moment. "How are you feeling?"

"Aside from the pounding headache okay."

"Cam told everyone that you were at Kemper that night also." I said sitting in one of the chairs in the room.

Athena's eyes got big. "I am so dead."

"Yeah Eddy said he's going to talk to us about it as soon as you are better."

She groaned. My sentiments exactly.


	121. Long Overdue Lecture

Notes: Been going crazy on the Matt Hardy Message Board. Between fights and an imposter it is enough to make you want to scream. But hey enjoy the chapter.

I was so bored by Sunday. Even though everyone's pretty much been here all weekend.

Danny came in. "How are you feeling Athena?" He asked.

"I'm feeling a lot better. What did you do this weekend?"

"Tatem sort of threatened me until I agreed to go to her house yesterday. I baby sat Misha and had dinner with them. It was kind of nice."

"Lucky you." I said. I hate this bed rest thing. It gets old fast. Tuesday I would be off of bed rest finally. There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" I called.

Eddy, dad, Chris, and Michael entered the room. Great I'm sure I know what this is about. I guess I'm well enough to hear this.

"Oh good you're both in here. We need to talk." I was right.

"I was never able to really talk to Danny about this because every time I tried I was interrupted." Eddy said. "But it's about time we did."

"Do you realize how stupid it was to go to RAW?" Chris asked.

"Um we never actually saw RAW." Danny pointed out. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. He did have a point. We left right before.

"Well it certainly got Stephanie McMahon's attention." Michael said. "They spotted Athena on the tape." Ugh like I needed to remember that.

"And Megan told me what you said in Stephanie and Hunter's office." I looked at Danny. What did he say? Danny looks uncomfortable.

"What did you say?" Dad asked. That was the first time he had said anything during all of this.

"Something along the lines of him saying it was bullshit and that they almost lost all of their roster." Chris turned to look at Danny. "Vince said he kidnapped you to try to find out what exactly you knew. You kinda blew it."

Danny sighed. "I know. But he did lie. And then Megan came in and I knew we had to get out of there."

Now it made sense. I knew Megan being there had spooked Danny but to hear what he had said confirmed it.

"It was a stupid thing to go to Kemper." Eddy said again. "Not just because of the fact that Owen had almost died there but because the WWE was there. I'm not surprised Hunter did identify you Danny. You look a lot like your father even with a disguise. I guess you got your bad disguise idea from him." Danny grinned. "But you could have put yourselves in serious danger."

"We know Eddy." I said. "We were just curious." I didn't mention it had been Danny's idea for obvious reasons.

"Shane McMahon said that his family didn't care that he had left so I was curious on why. I never watched WWE on TV at my friend Stan's house. Unless it was old tapes of you." Danny said looking at his dad.

"I'm sure your mother loved the fact that you were watching wrestling at anyone's house." Dad said.

"She didn't know."

Hmm interesting. I guess we have that in common too. Well I did have a feeling that was the case.

"I don't know what's going on in your head Danny but I'm glad this trial is almost over." Eddy said. "Because I don't know how far this would have gone if we hadn't taken Vince down in Atlanta."

It was quiet in the room after that.


	122. Closing Statement

I don't know whether I'm relieved or worried today. Athena had just testified and it was time for closing arguments.

The Defense witnesses went as we thought it would be. Vince, Hunter, and Stephanie all tried to place the blame on others, which is what they did in Atlanta. There weren't any surprises thrown at us luckily. I'm really beginning to hate surprises. But now it's time for closing arguments. And then the jury would decide the verdict.

I noticed mom and Melanie Pillman had come in. someone must have called them.

The judge came in and took her seat. "Mr. Olson please start your closing argument."

"Thank you your honor." He said before turning to the jury. "You have heard the testimony of many people and now it's your turn to decide if they are guilty or not. We have shown that Vince McMahon, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley plotted to kill and killed many wrestlers. How they plotted with Jeff Hardy to try to severely injure Matt Hardy and succeeded. We have shown how Shawn Michaels manipulated Vince into almost having his own son murdered. How they beat up Athena Hart. How they had kidnapped, beat up, and almost shot Daniel Benoit. I believe that we have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are guilty. I hope you all make the right decision. Thank you." He went back to his table.

"Thank you Mr. Olson. Mr. Harris please start your closing argument."

"Thank you your honor." The Defense Attorney said walking up to the jury box. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I want you to think about this. Almost all of the witnesses that the District Attorney called all have a grudge against Vince McMahon. Eric Bischoff once was president of a company that tried to run the World Wrestling Entertainment company out of business. Of course he's going to say those things about Vince. Vince Russo was fired twice. Eddy Guerrero had said many times that he hadn't been happy in the WWE. Yes Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, and Steve Austin are alive. Maybe they were overreacting. As for the Matt Hardy thing there's nothing that proves that it wasn't an accident. Even Matt doesn't remember it."

I gulped. Man this guy was smooth. I hope the jury isn't eating this up.

I looked at Dad who was massaging his temples. I'm sure he's thinking what I'm thinking. This can't be good.

"As for Athena and Daniel it still hasn't been linked back to Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. They weren't there." I sighed. This wasn't going very well. I hope the jury doesn't take this into consideration. "When you make your decision remember that." He went back to his seat.

Judge Arspringer turned to the jury and gave them instructions. I wasn't listening I was watching the Helmsleys. They looked awfully smug. Of course they would after hearing that closing statement.

The judge dismissed the jury for them to deliberate. She turned back to everyone in the courtroom. "I will inform you when the jury has made their decision. You may leave." The police took Hunter, Shawn, Vince and Stephanie out of the room.

This was going to be a long wait I'm sure.

Notes: I have jury duty next week and then I'm leaving for Mexico the following week. So I guess you all will have to wait for the verdict until then.


	123. Long Overdue Conversation

Sorry about the subject line. Couldn't resist it :-D

Well, we managed to sneak in one more chapter before April. Still, verdicts won't be revealed until April (and known only to two people until then :-D)

This chapter was inspired by reading a section on Austin's original neck injury in Stone Cold Truth, particularly JR's comments about it (which are prefaced below). Hence the theme "long overdue conversation." Figured out how to pull this off in the course of the chapter in Athena's POV.

Warnings: Lots of language, especially at the beginning of this. Especially from Austin

_...I will guarantee you one thing - Owen cared and I know he felt bad about what happened, because we used to discuss it often. When Steve was out of commission because of the neck injury, Owen used to ask me about Steve all the time. I used to say to him, "Why don't you call him?" Owen's response was always along the lines of "I'm going do," or, "I will, I just feel so bad about what I did." Those two never had the conversation they needed to have, the conversation both men felt in their hearts before Owen's untimely death. That's one face - to - face meeting I wish I could have orchestrated. - Jim Ross, in Stone Cold Truth_

_123_

_'Long Overdue Conversation' _

_**Athena's pov**_

"Goddamned, Son of a Bitch!"

Those words from Steve Austin startled me out of a sound sleep, though I kept my eyes closed and my body still; Danny told me he learned a lot pretending to be asleep with everybody else around. But I wondered what Austin was grumbling about.

"Would you keep it quiet," my Dad said in a soft but intense voice, "my daughter's asleep!"

I could've told him I was awake and that Austin could say whatever he wanted to, but I decided to chance taking Danny's advice once again and pretend to be asleep. Of course the last time I went along with anything Danny said or did, I went to Kemper and looked at how THAT turned out!

Dad suddenly had concern in his voice: "Is it about the trial? Is there a verdict or mistrial or something?"

The jury had been deliberating for a week now. We're all a bit concerned that Vince's defense lawyer might have swayed the jury to Vince's way of thinking. Especially when one juror it seems talked about writing a book after this and he got tossed off the jury and replaced with an alternate. We're worried that anything else happens to the jury and Judge Arspringer will declare a mistrial. I know that she almost declared one when Danny's father testified, and I agree with everybody else, that would be the worst thing in the world. For one thing everybody knows that Danny's father, my father, and Steve Austin are all alive and they would be major targets for Vince, Stephanie and company. District Attorney Olsen tried to reassure us, by pointing out that the Robert Blake jury deliberated for almost three weeks before reaching a verdict, but I never really paid much attention to celebrity trials.

"No," Erichson said, "if something like that had happened, I'm sure Olsen would've notified us to come to court."

"No, it was a notification of a different kind from him," a voice that I was pretty sure was Jim Ross joined in.

"Goddamned chickenshit took a deal!" Austin growled, this time much quieter, probably because Dad made him aware of me there.

"Which one?" A gravely voice that I thought might be Mark Calloway shot out, and I heard a soft thud, probably from somebody leaning against the door, "There's _only _so many of them involved in this mess."

"Who do you fucking think?" Austin shot back. He seemed to swear a lot. It's a good thing Oje decided to take Tim to meet Chris' grandkids.

There was a sigh from somewhere.

"Jarrett took a deal," Ross, responded, "he's rolling on Vince. He says Jerry never knew about it, Jeff acted independently where Steve's concerned. He said his ex - wife, Trish knew about it.

"Damn, should've known," Mark muttered. "Hardys know?" He's talking about Matt and Amy now.

"Were there when Olsen told us," Erichson said, "apparently, Amy thought she and Trish were close before Ms. Stratigus left the company to marry Mr. Jarrett. She was crying when she left for her room.

"Stupid fucking heart attack," Austin muttered.

"Hey, he probably won't walk, Steve," Dad said. "He did try and actually thought for a long time that he killed you. That's got to carry a stiff penalty."

"Like you did after SummerSlam?" Steve asked with a slight edge in his voice.

There was silence in the room.

"I never meant that," Dad said in a quiet voice.

I was curious now. I'm only vaguely aware that there's history between Dad and Steve Austin and some of it's not good. In fact Uncle Bret when he found out about Austin being alive, asked point blank (amid all the yelling in the room at the time) "are you ready to face him?" I never really bothered to ask what that was about, though from what little I've gathered from everybody, there was something about a botched move in a match that caused Austin an injury...

A clearing of the throat startled me out of my musings.

"I think this has turned into a more private conversation," Ross said, "why don't the rest of us find the others and let them know about Jeff." I heard shuffling of feet and the closing of a door. There were a few minutes of quiet to where I thought everybody left the room, and then Austin spoke up. I guess they forgot I was even in here.

"You know Jim would've found away to get us by ourselves sooner or later to have this out," Austin said almost as quietly as Dad.

"Yeah, he was kind of always after me to call you when I asked about how you were doing," Dad said.

"Why didn't you?"

There was a rustling of hands. Damn I wish I could open my eyes and see the expressions on their faces, but then I'd likely get thrown out of the room and not get to hear this.

"I don't know," Dad answered, "I guess, I felt too damn guilty about what I did. I know that's no excuse - "

"Your damn right it isn't!" Austin exclaimed, "Dammit, Owen! You were my friend. I trusted you!"

"I know you did," Dad said, "I assured you that I could do a move that quite frankly I had probably had no business doing, and I botched it. You don't know how many nights I lay awake afterwards with nightmares about that move. I could've killed you and I knew it!"

"When you told me you were going to land on your ass, I honestly thought you were joking, I honestly thought it would end up being on the knees like the Undertaker," Austin said, "I thought you could do it. The only reason I consented to that move that night was because I thought nothing would happen. You knew my concerns about that!"

"I knew. I just honestly thought that I could protect you going to my ass. I did it before without a problem," Dad explained. "I've spent a lot of years wondering why it didn't work this time. Honest to goodness if I'd thought that it would injury you to the point of surgery -" there was a pause after that, "yeah, Lawler, told me you had to have it, and that's another story for another time; point is, that if I'd known then, what I found out later, I would've never have done the piledriver in the first place. If I'd realized how botched I got it then, I wouldn't have kicked out either, that was really, really stupid on my part. Frankly I wish 1997 hadn't happened period."

"You know Youngblood said I'd need another fusion surgery eventually after the first one. Haven't really felt any pain in my neck since I woke up. I guess fifteen years in a coma will kinda give the neck a rest or something," Austin spoke softly.

"Yeah well falling fifty to seventy feet isn't a lot of fun either," Dad replied, "ironic though, we survive falls that should've killed us intact, and Chris gets a botched powerbomb and ends up the worst of us."

"Yeah, irony's a real bitch," Austin muttered, then sighed, "I guess I just wish that things had worked out differently that night. I wish you'd called to at least tell me you were sorry. At least once."

"I was and I still am sorry. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to say that, but I am, truly. I hope that someday you'll forgive me and that maybe we can be friends again."

"I forgave you a long time ago, Owen," Austin said, "and I'd like to be your friend too, if you're willing to be mine."

'Deal," there was a clasp of hands, and I knew there had been a shaking on it.

"Um, Steve," Dad said, "one more thing: About those T - shirts, the Owen 3:16 ones?

"Yeah?" Austin asked, an edge returning to his voice.

"I told Vince to take the money made off those and give it to charity or shove it up his ass. I didn't want to take or make any money off your injury. I didn't want those T - shirts made in the first place."

There was another silence, this time broken by a knock on the door.

"Hey, killed each other yet?" Uncle Bret's voice rang out. "That's a nice gesture Steve,"

"That was a funny joke Bret," Steve answered. "Was that all you wanted, to see if there were bodies in here, or was there something else,"

"Is Athena in here?"

I sensed the conversation was over, so I decided to pretend I was just waking up.

"What's going on?" I said wiping at my eyes.

"Time to get up kiddo," Uncle Bret said, "got a doctor's appointment."

I got up to get dressed. After I got released from the hospital, the doctors wanted me back every so often to check to see that I didn't have any post - concussion syndrome. The type that ended Uncle Bret's career. Plus I had the stitches taken out a few days ago, so they wanted to check to see if the scars from getting shoved through a bathroom mirror were healing enough to not leave anything visible.

Danny was right. You can get interesting information when you're pretending to sleep.

END NOTES: I think we ALL know what gesture Steve gave Bret. ;-) See ya in April for the verdicts!


	124. The Verdict's In

Notes: Just as we promised. Here's 124. 

The Verdict's In I was sitting on the floor playing a game on the TV with Andrea. I could not believe how long it was taking the jury to decide on a verdict. It was already over two weeks into the deliberation. I was starting to really believe that the verdict wasn't going to be good when they did decide. I have a feeling that's the feeling of almost everyone by now. But dad told me about how it took a jury three hours to find OJ Simpson not guilty so waiting could be a good thing.

I heard talking in the hall and put the game on pause wondering what it was. I stuck my head out the door and saw Uncle Eddy standing there talking on the phone with someone. Owen, Martha, Bret, and Uncle Ric were standing around him.

"Yeah okay we'll be right there." He said hanging up. He turned to Owen before any of us could ask something.

"Find Chris and Steve. The jury's ready"

Finally! I thought it would never happen.

"Can I come?" I turned around to see that Andi had followed me out of the room.

"You'll have to ask your parents Andi." Uncle Eddy said.

"Ask us what?" Shane asked coming out of his room.

"Dad I want to hear the jury's decision. Can I please"

"I guess so. We need to tell Owen, Chris, and Steve"

"Owen went to find Chris and Steve. But we need to hurry. They are going to wait until we get there but I want to know now." Uncle Eddy said rubbing his hands in obvious anticipation. I think we all felt that way.

Within minutes it seemed as if everyone had come out of their rooms at the same time because the hallway was now very crowded. "Uncle Eddy did you call my mom?" I asked. She may be mad at dad but I know she'd want to hear the verdict as much as the rest of us. "I'll do that right now." He said dialing as we walked to the elevators. I was crowded into a car with pretty much the same people I was with when we left my mom's house a few weeks ago. It was not a quiet ride to the courthouse as we were all nervous and excited. Things were about to finally end whether it was with a guilty or non-guilty verdict. Man I really hope the verdict's guilty or we are all in trouble.

When we got to the courthouse we were all ushered in. I noticed the vultures, or rather the reporters, were standing outside of the room waiting in anticipation. They all called questions at us but we ignored them hoping they would get the hint and leave us alone. No such luck but we were in the courtroom fast.

I looked over at the Defense table and saw the expressions on their faces were all neutral. I wonder what they are thinking right now. Do they think they won? Or do they know they've lost. Helmsley, for once, wasn't glaring back at us. He was staring straight ahead as are the rest of them. I look up as mom takes a seat in front of me. I'm glad she's here to hear this. The jury came in and took a seat. The judge came out after them. "Has the jury reached a verdict"

"Yes, we have your honor." The Jury Foreman said standing up.

"Please hand it to the bailiff." The Foreman did and sat down. Judge Arspringer cleared her throat. "For the attempted murder of Owen Hart. In the case of Michael Hickenbottom the jury finds him guilty. In the case of Stephanie McMahon Levesque the jury finds her guilty. In the case of Paul Levesque the jury finds him guilty." So far so good. "And in the case of Vince McMahon the jury finds him guilty. For the attempted murder of Steve Williams. In the case of Michael Hickenbottom the jury finds him guilty. In the case of Stephanie McMahon Levesque the jury finds her guilty. In the case of Paul Levesque the jury finds him guilty. And in the case of Vince McMahon the jury finds him guilty. For the attempted murder of Chris Benoit. In the case of Michael Hickenbottom the jury finds him guilty. In the case of Stephanie McMahon Levesque the jury finds her guilty. In the case of Paul Levesque the jury finds him guilty." Here comes the big one. "And in the case of Vince McMahon the jury finds him guilty"

Yes! I kind of tuned out the other verdicts. The big ones were taken care of. The judge had a hard time calming down the courtroom after she finished reading the verdicts. We were all hugging. I didn't hear what the judge said next. It felt too good. "What's next?" I ask Mr. Olson.

"The judge will declare how many years they get." In 2013 the United States got rid of the death penalty and handed out multiple life sentences in order to keep the criminals in prison longer. "I don't think any of them will be getting out any time soon"

Finally justice.

Jules adds: hands the group off to Harry Happy April Fools!


	125. Chris' Story

Notes: I kinda bring up Eddy's book that's coming out next month. I can't wait to read it!

I was sitting at the Student Union at Emory talking to Stan. It was a couple of days after the verdict had come in. I was still in Atlanta. I wasn't leaving for Kentucky for another week or so. I had called Stan to see if he had time to talk and this was the only time he had available.

"So now that the big trial's over what are you going to do?" Stan asked.

"Go back to Ohio Valley Wrestling I guess. I'm really not sure anymore. I mean I wanted to become a wrestler so I could follow in my dad's footsteps but he's still alive. On the other hand I love wrestling and I don't know if I want to give it up." I said taking a sip from my soda.

"Hm." Stan said looking thoughtful. "That's a really big problem man. For as long as I've known you, you've wanted to be a wrestler. Didn't you once say it was in your blood?"

I chuckled. "Don't tell Eddy. I had stolen that from him." I said thinking about the book he had written in 2005 that my mother had never known I read. One of the things I knew she'd kill me for. Eddy didn't describe dad's death at all. The book was written through till 2003. So it didn't mention Steve Austin's death either. I had always wondered why he had stopped there. Course now I know why. "But you do have a point. I don't think I can stop wrestling."

"There you go. There's your answer. And I'm sure your mother will warm up to it...eventually."

I groaned. "Right eventually. That's something else I needed your advice on. I need to figure out how to get my family together."

"Uh Danny I thought you had given up on trying to hook your parents back up." Boy did he look confused.

"I have that's not the problem. My dad wants to get everyone together in order to tell us his side of the story. I can't wait to hear what he didn't want Megan and I to hear in the courtroom."

He looked thoughtful. "Why not just ask her? The last time you lied it blew up in your face."

I chuckled. I'm glad I'm having this conversation. Best friends are great. "That's a good idea. I will. So how's college?"

"Stick around a little longer and I'll introduce you to my girlfriend." He said with a big grin. "College is a lot harder then high school. You made a good choice by deciding to be a wrestler then to go to college. I think I'm going to major in Computer Science. Though it seems like everyone is."

My mind started to wander would my mother agree to the meeting? She is still mad at dad. But I don't think there will be any bloodshed at least I hope not.

My phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was mom. Perfect timing. "I got to go. Thanks for the advice Stan." I got up and walked out side. "Hello?"

"Daniel I was wondering if you and Megan would like to come over for dinner tonight. Tatem, Ted, David and Sally will be there."

"Sounds great. Can I bring dad?" I decided to take Stan's advice and use the direct approach. "He wants to tell everyone what happened to him."

There was a long pause. I was afraid she had hung up. But I thought I heard her say something to someone. I heard her sigh. "Okay he can come too."

Well that was easier then I thought it would be.

* * *

After dinner that night, we all gathered in the family room. I was sitting on the couch with Tatem, Megan, and Ted. David and Sally were sitting on the floor. Mom and Jason were sitting in chairs. Uncle Eddy and dad were standing. Well actually Uncle Eddywas on a cell phone talking to who I think would be Shane McMahon. I'm not completely sure. I watched him hand the phone over to dad who listened for a couple of minutes before saying fine. They hung up.

Dad looked at all of us before he said anything. "I asked everyone to come in here so I could tell you what happened to me." He paused and looked at Eddy. "I asked Eddy to be here to fill in the blanks."

"I'm surprised you got through the trial with how much you remembered Chris." Dad chuckled.

"Anyway," dad continued. "I had no idea what was going on. I just thought it was going to be another match. Maybe I should have known something was wrong when Vince gave me both Sunday and Monday off. But all I could think about was spending time with my family. I was happy they were in the audience but later I would regret it. I didn't really notice anything about backstage except that Eddy was really nervous."

"I was nervous because I was worried that Bill Goldberg would double cross us. I had no idea if he was a man that kept his word. He was going to kill Chris before we talked to him. I remember standing there with Chavo watching the match trying not to make people think I was nervous. Chavo said later he thought I was nervous because of Goldberg's tendency to injure people."

"That's why I was nervous. I knew about how he had injured Bret Hart and put him out of wrestling. I was afraid he'd do the same to me. He almost did worse." He sighed. "During the match everything was going as we planned. We got to the finish where Goldberg would power bomb me for the 1 2 3. When he lifted me up for the power bomb something felt really wrong. I told him that. He said just hang on. I hit the mat so hard and remember the referee asking if I was okay but I couldn't answer him. I heard a bell ringing. I remember hearing Chase and Eddy telling me to pretend to be dead and I blacked out. Next thing I know I'm in a hospital bed." He looked at Uncle Eddy.

Uncle Eddy sighed. "When I got to the hospital I was informed that Chris had a seizure on the way to the hospital and they had given him an anti-seizure drug. He had a severe concussion and some strain to his neck. Chris stayed in Marietta Georgia for a couple of weeks before we were allowed to move him. We were informed that he was supposed to not do anything really physical for awhile." He paused.

He looked at dad again before he continued. "Chris seemed really disoriented when we got back to the cabin. He was at the hospital too but the doctors said it was because of the pain medication they had him on. But we all sensed something was wrong. I think Tammy was the one to notice it when we brought Chris to the cabin. I had been so surprised to see her I almost lost my hold on Chris who was leaning heavily on me. He grabbed the wall to keep himself steady. Michael had told me he had been thinking about telling Tammy what he also did in the FBI but I had thought he would tell us before he did so. But back to Chris. I had to move quickly before he fell to the floor. The doctor, Chase, had been almost just as hesitant to move Chris, as they were to move Owen and Steve. But I think we had thought it was a precautionary measure."

I looked over at dad who was listening to Eddy as intently as the rest of us. I did wonder what this all had to do with anything. What made them not want me to be in the courtroom when dad testified? I had thought they had said dad had only suffered a strained neck and a severe concussion. I wasn't a doctor by a long shot but I thought something didn't add up right.

Uncle Eddy continued. "Tammy looked at Chris and hurried over to help me sit him down in a chair. He didn't say anything during that. Come to think of it he hadn't said much at all. Chase said it was probably because of the anti-seizure medicine they had him on. But we realized something was really wrong the next day. He came into the kitchen that morning and sat down. We were eating breakfast. I was in no hurry to get back to El Paso. My wife knew why I was gone and had been thinking about coming up for a visit. But anyway Chris came in and took a seat at the table. His hands shook as he poured cereal and milk into a bowl. He still wasn't saying anything. He turned to me and said: Where are we?"

Uncle Eddy paused. "I was, of course, confused by the question. He had been awake during most of the drive to the cabin. I was pretty sure I had told him we were going to Kentucky. I said in Kentucky. He had a blank look on his face.

'Why are we in Kentucky' he had asked. I didn't answer. I grabbed my cell and called Chase. I figured he'd be the one to know what was going on. He said he would like to do CAT scan but knows he can't because of the fact that we were no longer in Marietta. He told me he would catch the next flight to Louisville. He told me to remind Chris of what happened and then fill him in when he got there. I told Chris but he looked really confused by that. How could he be hearing it for the first time? He had known that for the past week. He had been angry like we knew he would be, but was generally confused. Only thing we could do was wait for Chase."

"By then I was so confused. I walked into the living room to find Owen Hart reading the comics. I was later told I fainted."

Eddy chuckled. "Owen looked at me and said 'Didn't you tell him I was alive?' I explained the situation. When Chase arrived he did an examination and told us that Chris' head injury was a lot more serious then we had originally thought. He was suffering from short-term memory loss and there was nothing we could do about it. We had to wait it out and help Chris where we could. It was like that movie from the early part of this century 50 First Dates. We had to keep reminding him of things. Luckily once the concussion wore off so did the short term memory loss."

"But why didn't you want me and Megan at the trial?" I asked.

"We had a feeling that they would try to exploit this. I wanted to sit down with all of you and explain what had really happened. I know I had told you I was fine but I didn't want to worry you. Really I was okay I was just worried that they would use it against me on the stand."

I guess that made sense but really after almost being shot that day was strange. I feel bad for dad. He must have been scared to wake up every day and not know where he was or what was going on. But it must have been hard on the others.

I looked around the room. Mom was looking at dad so intently. Jason had a shocked look on his face. David looked horrified, as did Megan and Tatem. Ted was holding Tatem's hand and looked a bit uncomfortable as did Sally. They were really just meeting my dad now so this had to be strange for them. I guess it's not every day you hear about how your father-in-law escaped death.

Dad looked at mom. "I wish I could have told you what was going on Nancy but I didn't want anything to happen to you or the kids. Eddy kept me up to date and I'm glad you found someone else." Dad had tears in his eyes. Understandable I guess.

Mom sighed. "Chris I think it will take time for me to forgive you but know that I will."

Well that's a start. Jason didn't seem upset by that statement.

"That's all I needed to hear." Dad said.

"So what now Chris?" Ted asked.

"I'm not totally sure. Shane McMahon's working on something but I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. Get to know my kids and grandkids better is my top priority. Maybe I'll help train wrestlers at OVW. I just don't know. I've dreamed about this day but now that it's here I really don't know. I don't think any of us know."

I wonder what Shane was planning. I remember the phone call and now I'm even more curious.


	126. Showdown

Much thanks to Sarah for inspiring this one. This chapter's dedicated to you. - Jules

NOTES: This takes place at around the same timeframe as 125. I'm also going to say that it's been about a month between Jarrett's heart attack and 125.

_**126**_

_**Showdown.**_

_**Athena's POV**_

Sometimes I wonder if I inherited my impulsiveness from Dad because I'm almost sure I didn't inherit it from my mother.

Otherwise, why in the world would my Dad decide to meet up with Jeff Jarrett. A man who took money from Vince McMahon to kill Stone Cold Steve Austin.

People wonder why I went to Kemper?

Anyhow, I overheard my Dad and my Uncle talking to Erichson about visiting Jarrett who had been moved from the hospital room to a jail cell. Something about why Jeff would do Vince's dirty work. I know from my Uncles and Mom that Jarrett and my Dad were friends before he 'died.' I do have vague memories of him coming around a few times after Dad's funeral before Mom really kicked in with the "No Wrestling" edict. I know I heard my Dad say he wanted to know why Jeff did what he did during the conversation. I guess since he took a deal and won't testify about what he did, going to him seems to make the most sense.

I was surprised when Dad let me go with him, Uncle Bret, and Debra Austin. I kinda thought they would tell me to stay out of this one. Steve Austin wasn't going; something about punching the bastard. Can't say I wouldn't do the same if it was Stephanie McMahon Helmsley. There was some cursing and the word bloodbath did come up.

We went to Marietta, Georgia which was where Jarrett was taken to await his sentencing following his dealmaking. It was a long way to get to that tiny little barred meeting room.

The bailiff knocked on the door.

"Jarrett, you got a visitor," he said going into the room.

"Let me guess?" he called out before we were let into the room, but we could see him. He was shackled to one of the chairs in the room. "Austin's come to collect?"

"Not quite," Dad said, going into the room first.

I'm guessing nobody actually told Jarrett that Dad was alive.

The look on Jeff Jarrett's face when he saw Dad was priceless. His eyes were so wide I thought they were going to fall out of their sockets. His face which had already been pale from the heart attack a month earlier went bone white. I honestly thought he was going to have a stroke then and there. His mouth moved like a fish for a few minutes with nothing coming out before he was finally able to make a sound.

"I - I, oh God," he managed to stammer out, "I didn't... Nobody told me..." he shook his head, "remind me to fire that attorney of mine," he finally muttered.

"Oh, I don't know, she seemed to do a good job for you," Dad said straddling in the chair opposite Jarrett, a desk separating them, "got you a pretty nice deal. Least you have the possibility of parole after 20 years from what I'm told. That's something the McMahons and Helmsley aren't getting. But I guess a jail cell is one of the perks of getting your hands dirty for Vince right?"

Jarrett couldn't meet Dad's eyes.

"I swear, I had nothing to do with Kemper," he started, "I never even thought that Vince had actually did it until Russo's tape aired on RAW."

"Come on, Jeff," Uncle Bret said standing in one of the rooms corners, "how could you be so blind?"

"Come off it, Bret," Jarrett shot back, "you know as well as I do Vince made it look damned convincing that Kemper was an accident, and with all the infighting in your family by that time, he was able to make himself the innocent party. Seems to always do that."

"Not anymore," I muttered. Nobody heard me. Jarrett finally looked dad in the eye.

"I told Vince when he approached me about the scaffold match, that if I found anything to link him to your death, I'd turn on him faster than a deer in hunting season. I'd tell the authorities that he planned Austin's death, not Bischoff like Vince set it up to look like. That's why I was in Atlanta the day Steve testified. I was going to turn state's witness on Vince. Never got the chance too though, not that it matters now."

Dad sighed, "you hated Steve that much? Were that jealous of him, that you would actually kill him for Vince?"

"There was a bit more to that," Jarrett replied, "but yeah, that was the gist of it. 'Fraid to say no, because I thought Vince would go to Austin and ask him to do the same thing to me or he'd make sure we both got injured on that scaffold. Also figured that it would get me out of the doghouse I sort of ended up in when I held the IC title hostage when I left the WWF and WCW folded a year and a half later. Whether anybody likes it or not Chyna was Kliq through and through. But yeah, bottom line, I hated Steve enough to kill him."

"Why?" was the choked question from Debra Austin.

"Why?" Jarrett looking at Debra, "because that slapnut had everything. The hot career, the titles, and in the end, the girl."

That seemed to silence everybody in the room.

"You'll never know just how much I would've done for you Debbie. Why you chose him over me I'll never know."

"Too bad you didn't think about his daughters when you made that deal," I muttered again. This time everybody did hear me.

Jarrett looked at me for a good few moments than mouthed to dad my name. When dad nodded, Jarrett slumped in his chair.

"You know I came around to check on Martha and the kids after your funeral," he said his voice distant. "I tried to stay in their lives, but Martha didn't want anybody related to wrestling but the family anywhere near the kids after a month or so. I felt sorry for her," gesturing towards me, "and Oje having to grow up without a father."

Dad nodded again, "yeah she told me. But thing about this Jeff: If felt bad about Vince depriving my kids of a father, than maybe you should've thought about Steve's girls before depriving them of theirs."

With that Dad got up and walked out, the rest of us followed.

Dad leaned against the wall outside the Marietta County jail and sighed.

"I know that was tough," Uncle Bret said.

"Yeah, but I needed to have that meeting," Dad replied, "I needed to tie up that loose end before I moved on."

"Which begs the question," Uncle Bret began, "what are you going to do now?"

That was a good question. What were Dad and the others going to do now?

Okay, here we go.


	127. A Talk With Mom

Notes: This takes place a couple of days after 125 & 126. Sniffs this fic is almost done. :'( Is it okay if we stall the end for a month or two? Ducks. I'm joking!

Jules adds: Sniffles

I'm at mom and Jason's keeping an eye on Trevor and Misha since they and Tatem were at work. Not how I imagined things would be when the trial was over but I had decided to take time off from training. People seemed surprised by that. Things just seemed weird now.

Misha was coloring in her coloring book and Trevor was playing a game on the computer. I was waiting for Tatem to come pick up Misha and Trevor. She was taking Trevor to a doctor's appointment.

"Hello? Daniel you still here?" Mom called. I went into the front room and saw her loaded down with groceries. I grabbed a couple of bags. I was surprised to see her. I thought she'd be at work. "Oh good you're still here. I wanted to talk to you."

"Tatem's a little late picking them up. Why aren't you at work?"

"Every once in awhile you need to take some time off right?"

"Sure I guess." I should know I'm the one who's taking time off.

"Trevor can you keep an eye on Misha till Tatem gets here? I need to talk to Daniel."

"Sure." He said turning off the game. He hobbled over to where Misha was and started coloring with her.

"Let's go outside." Mom said.

It was a warm spring day so we sat on the porch. "I thought now would be a good time to talk to you about this. You have heard your father's side but you haven't heard mine. I made the choice to not tell you about the match for your own good. You were four at the time. It pretty much traumatized Tatem and she was ten."

"How come when I got older you wouldn't tell me? Not even when I said I wanted to be a wrestler."

"I guess I felt a need to shield you from the sport. Anyone that came to visit knew not to speak about the sport to you. But as you got older, I started to realize you knew more then I thought you did. It became clear when you came home from Florida with a tattoo on your ankle. I don't know if it would have bothered me as much if it was a different kind of tattoo." I just nodded. We'd discussed that many times. "But I never understood why you wanted to be a wrestler."

"I had wanted to follow in dad's footsteps. I always thought you'd understand that since you had been in the sport for about ten years."

"True. I gave it all up when I married your father. I had custody of Tatem and wanted to take care of her. Your father said he could support us with his contract. He was making roughly five hundred thousand a year then. But your father had been so proud when he found out I was pregnant with you. You're the reason why he went to the WWF instead of Japan. He wanted to be here when I gave birth. Though later I found out what Shane Douglas was trying to do was keep your father from going to WWF. But we didn't know why at the time. Wish we did though."

I finally asked the question I had wanted to ask her ever since she found out dad hadn't died. "Are you still in love with him?"

She didn't say anything right away. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for your father. But no I don't think I love him the way I used to. I was scared that I still loved him but I don't. I love him but I'm not in love with him and that's a big difference."

I contemplated what she said while she went to check up on Misha and Trevor. If only we had all known. I didn't think it was possible to hate Vince McMahon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley more then I already did but I think it was possible.

Mom came back out. "Where was I? Oh yes your father being in WWF. He had hurt his neck in 2002 and needed surgery. He was the doting loving father that whole time he was gone. Then in 2003 in what was an accident your father broke his elbow again. He broke it in Japan in 1998. But things got strange when he went back for Survivor Series of that year. And I don't mean just Steve Austin's near death."

"Steve Borden told me about his match with dad and how Helmsley told him to work on the elbow."

"That's what your father told me when he came home to tell me Steve had died. He said Helmsley was acting strange, as was Jarrett. He didn't mention it again until the fateful PPV that I thought he died at. He was so worried about the match. Your father never had a problem with jobbing. He didn't mind losing to Goldberg; he just didn't want to wrestle him. He told me his worries about it being the fifth anniversary of Owen's death and what Goldberg did to Bret Hart. He told me that you were not going to the show. He wasn't too sure about me and Tatem going but I told him things would be fine." She stopped talking and just stared out at the cars going by.

"When I was going to Kemper I had a dream of the night you guys went to the show. He told me I was too young and that when I woke up the next morning he'd be waiting for me."

"That was our own plan. But as things seem to go in wrestling it seems, nothing ever goes the way you plan it." Don't I know it? "Tatem and I had front row seats for that show. Your father came over, kissed me, and hugged Tatem before jumping into the ring. I, as many I guess, knew something looked really wrong when Goldberg picked your father up for the power bomb. I jumped to my feet and watched it. I'm not sure which one of us screamed first between Tatem and I. Goldberg pinned your father and got up. But your father didn't. I saw the paramedics and Eddy go to ringside. Eddy left for I didn't know why at the time. The paramedic told me that your father was dead and I don't' remember what happened after that. Tatem said I fainted right next to his body. National Enquirer ran a picture of that in their magazine. Sued them for that. Anyway telling you was the hardest part. I remember telling you and you wouldn't believe me. You ran out of the kitchen. You wouldn't eat you wouldn't sleep and you barely talked." She paused again. "You remember the funeral?"

"Vaguely."

"It seemed like everyone was there. Your brother David, Shane Douglas, Dean Malenko, Eddy Guerrero, Perry Saturn, and Ric Flair served as pallbearers. I do not remember much of it except the nagging reminder that I'd never see your father again. Though that would turn out to be wrong later."

I closed my eyes. I was remembering the funeral. I sat on my mother's lap. Tatem was sitting next to us along with Levi, Megan, David and their parents. I had a red rose in my hand. I just stared at the coffin, which was closed. I remember thinking that dad wasn't dead. It was someone else's funeral.

The looks of pity people were sending over at us. People talked. But I don't remember when they said. I just remember the coffin and thinking dad couldn't be dead because to me I thought my dad would never break a promise and he had promised to be home when I got up that morning. I remember mom leading me past the closed casket and being instructed to put a rose on top of it. Mom had to lift me up of course.

I don't remember if I cried but I must have. I didn't want to ask mom that.

"That was one of the toughest days of my life." Mom continued. Everyone that your father had worked with were there offering their condolences. Jushin Thunder Liger even came to offer his condolences. They had wrestled each other in Japan for years. Debra was the shoulder I needed to cry on. She had gone through it just six months before." She paused wiping away a tear. "Don't know why I'm crying." She said. That's mom. Always trying to be strong.

"I remember Vince McMahon wasn't at the funeral but Stephanie and Hunter were. I wouldn't let either of them into my house. Though they tried. I think they and Bischoff were the only ones I refused to come to the house. I thought they had a lot of gall to show up. I didn't trust any of them. Now I'm not surprised Vince didn't show up at the time I thought it was strange though I was glad he didn't."

She didn't say anything for a few minutes. "The first couple of weeks after the funeral were tough. I didn't think things would ever get better. I'm glad that Dean, Perry, and Eddy came by. Eddy came less then they did for reasons that are obvious now. At the time I thought it was strange until Dean said it was probably his way of dealing with things. Of course I now know he was in Marietta with your father."

"Did you ever try to sue the WWE?" Probably a dumb question but I remember Athena saying her mother had sued them.

"I had thought about it but my lawyer discouraged it. He said there was no way to prove Vince had done anything. It was proven that Goldberg had done it. Though we did get a percentage of the rest of Goldberg's contract as part of the settlement with Vince, which I divided between yours, Megan's, and David's college funds that your father had set up along with the remaining of your father's contract. I think Vince was trying everything he could to avoid a lawsuit." That did sound like Vince. "Of course you decided to use your money for wrestling and Megan never did go to college. So only David used it for its intended way." I chuckled. Mom was right.

Her face became serious. "I was glad that people respected my wishes not to talk about wrestling in front of you. I knew I couldn't keep them from coming over. The only time someone didn't comply was Eddy when he told you that some of the people training at OVW went to school at Brown High School. I knew as soon as you heard that you'd want to go to OVW. I didn't think we'd fight over it that much. I think the only solution was for you to not spend the summer at home and you did come back in time for school at Frederick Douglass High School."

"I remember what you told me, you can do whatever you want after you graduate high school but until then you are staying here and doing it. Course you still didn't want me to become a wrestler."

"I didn't want you to get hurt. I had thought your dad had died and couldn't stand the thought of the same thing happening to you." She paused. "I just wanted to keep you safe. That was always my goal for you, Tatem, and Trevor, Levi too even though he was living with his dad. I couldn't ignore the fact that wrestling was a dangerous sport."

"Even if it was to make me give up my dream?"

Mom sighed. "Even that. I know I encouraged you to follow your dreams but I didn't want you to be a wrestler. David and Tatem both said you are doing well even Chavo said so. I was starting to warm up to the idea and then you got kidnapped. And then I found out you were the next target…" she closed her eyes. "I'm just glad everything's finally over."

I agree with her about that. Now if only I knew what I was going to do and what dad was planning to do. "How's Jason taking everything?"

"He's taking it better then he was at first. He said he got a better understanding about everything after talking to your dad at the restaurant. I'm surprised there wasn't any blood shed." That makes two of us. "Don't expect them to be friends but they at least there's an understanding." She said with a grin.

I'm glad mom's taking things better then she did when she first found out. I'm glad she's still not about to kill dad. Maybe hearing dad's side of the story a couple of days ago helped her as much as the hotel restaurant dinner meeting helped Jason to understand. That's not to say she won't kill someone like Bischoff but at least she's not going to kill dad.

Which is about the best thing. I still wonder what dad and the others are going to do. They still don't sound like they know.


	128. Shane's Decision

Notes: hands out tissues to readers and Jules. It's been a long ride and we are done. There will be an epilogue but we are done.

Shane's Decision

I was sitting in the back waiting for RAW to start. Though I had slept about three hours last night I was pretty energized for this RAW. The trials were finally over and Vince and Stephanie were locked away for a long time along with HHH. Jeff Hardy got a smaller sentence. It was sort of a celebration. Shane was doing a live feed from Nitro from Nassau on Long Island. But I was not far away from there. I was at Madison Square Garden

Backstage was crowded. I was sandwiched between my father and Megan. David was sitting on the other side of dad and Tatem was sitting next to Megan with Ted next to her. Misha had chosen to sit on my lap. I was glad David chose not to bring his boys. It was also crowded because every now and then someone would come over and say something to dad. I saw the same thing happening with Owen and Steve and their families. My mother and Jason were talking to Steve and Debra.

And yet I didn't know why we were all backstage at RAW. All my dad would say was it was a surprise. I don't know if I like surprises anymore. Whatever the surprise was dad thought we should all be there.

"Uncle Danny?" Misha asked breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I'm hungry. Can we go back to that room with food?"

I knew she was talking about the room with the buffet table. I looked over at Tatem who nodded. "Sure. We have to make it quick though."

We walked into the room with the buffet table. There were a few wrestlers in there that looked at us and then went back to talking. I was watching Misha take some food when someone said, "What? No dress this time?"

Shit. I thought as I turned around. Looks like Vince was true to his word because Chad was there. Funny I don't remember him being at the RAW in Atlanta.

I didn't say anything just grabbed Misha and headed back to where everyone was. I certainly wasn't going to tell him off in front of my five-year-old niece. I hope whoever takes over RAW, if it's not shut down that is, fires Chad.

Nitro was on the air. "That's our cue." Dad said as everyone started walking out to the ring.

I saw some signs that weren't too nice like: Vince was framed! Vince is Innocent! Go back to hiding. I couldn't see more from where I was standing though. Dad saw them and the look on his face was rather scary. He started whispering to Uncle Eddy who looked at them and went over and talked to security. When I looked again, the signs were gone.

There were several people in the ring that I'm pretty sure weren't in the WWE. Some of them had small kids. I wonder what's going on.

Shane started to speak. "First I want to thank the families of the victims for accepting my invitation to be at RAW. Even though this was all my father's doing I feel a need to apologize for his actions. Melanie I'm sorry for what my dad did to Brian. I'd also like to say I'm sorry to Nancy, Debra, and Martha for what you went through for years thinking your husbands were dead. I was lucky and had my wife with me for the ten years I was gone. Though it did prevent my children from having a normal childhood. To the children of Steve, Owen, and Chris that also extends to you."

He stopped talking for a second. He had Marissa, Andi, Wes, and Linda in the ring with him. "I've asked many times since the trial ended what I'm going to do with WCW and WWE. It wasn't an easy decision since I had to take into consideration the amount of wrestlers that would be unemployed if I folded one of the companies. But I also had to realize that I couldn't run both companies at once."

He paused looking at dad, Steve, and Owen. "Then I remembered that there were three men who had been forced to go into hiding because of what my dad tried to do to them. And I started to realize what would be a fair decision and a fitting decision. That's why I have made this decision. WWE will not fold. It will be back and running after a brief sabbatical while the new people in charge decide what kind of changes the company needed."

New people? I wonder…

"I am giving the WWE to Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, and Owen Hart to run. I think it's only fair. I know WWE will be in good hands." There was a lot of cheering after that. So that does explain the phone call the other day. "WCW will be on Thursday for Thunder." Shane left the ring.

It was chaotic when we got the back. I couldn't even see dad because of all of the WWE wrestlers were surrounding him, Owen, and Steve. I had to agree it was fitting. I caught sight Chad leaving in the building. Boy did he look mad. He probably has already figured out that he'll be fired. I know dad, Owen, and Steve wouldn't keep him. Not after they find out who he is. He turned around and saw me. If looks could kill I'd be dead.

I saw Athena was standing with her mother and brother. I walked over to them. "Some twist huh?" I asked.

"It works." Athena said. "Wait till Vince finds out." I chucked. She had a point. He probably would have never guessed that's how things would end up. Course neither did I.


	129. Epilogue

Notes: sniff Final chapter. Man this fic started out as something completely different. It was supposed to be a fic about Chris Benoit's youngest son trying to make it in wrestling. About his struggles with his family and the other people training. But then Jules wrote what became chapter 15 and I asked her to be my co-writer. Trust me in the original version Owen and Chris were not coming back from the dead! And she also had the brilliant idea to kill Steve Austin and bring him back. It's been one heck of a two years and thanks for joining us on the ride.

Juliet's comments: Ditto. Thanks to all of our loyal readers who stuck with us through the ride.

Epilogue

Bam! I landed on my back in the center of the ring. I grinned as someone stuck their hand out to help me up.

"Okay good next time Eduardo try not to flip him so hard. You aren't supposed to hurt your opponent!" D-Lo called.

I got out of the ring in order for the next two people to have a chance at doing the move. I wiped away the sweat off my forehead with a towel.

"You okay Danny?" Eduardo asked. Eduardo's Chavo's son and has only been here a couple of weeks but he's already getting the hang of it. It must be a family thing.

"Fine. My back might be sore for a couple of days but I'm okay." I said with a grin to let him know I was just kidding.

"I have to watch out or Uncle Eddy will kill me for getting you hurt when you are almost out of here."

"I don't think I'm being called up for awhile. At least I haven't heard anything about it." I said thinking about the last conversation I had with Chavo, Uncle Eddy, and D-Lo. They just said someone was coming up to check on me but I haven't seen anyone.

"Danny!" I looked up to see Chavo standing there. "Why don't you hit the showers? There's someone that wants to talk to you." I nodded looking around but didn't see anyone.

I went to the locker room and sat down. It feels weird to be here after everything that's been happening. Athena and Cam were called up a few months ago and went to WCW. They both said it would have been weird to go to WWE because they both wanted to not be in their father's shadows. Understandable I don't even know where I want to go when I'm finished at OVW. I still think I have a long way to go before I'm called up. It's all that time I missed because of the trial and other things. It's only been about a year since I started training here.

I took a shower and changed wondering who wanted to talk to me. I walked out and headed to Uncle Eddy's office figuring he'd know something about it. I knocked on the door. "Come in!" He called.

I walked in. "Chavo said someone wanted to see me?"

Uncle Eddy nodded. "Have a seat. He went out to make a phone call but he'll be in here in a second. How's Eduardo doing? I noticed you were working with him a few minutes ago."

"He's doing really good. He's picking it up fast as long as he doesn't try to put the person through the ring."

Uncle Eddy chuckled. "Yeah well he's still new." He signaled to someone who was behind me. I turned around to see dad enter the room. I stood up and gave him a hug. I haven't seen him much because of the fact that he's been on the road with the WWE and I have been training at OVW. Though I wonder why Chavo didn't just say my dad was here.

"I'm going to go check on things." Uncle Eddy said leaving the room.

"I didn't know you were going to be here." I said as he sat down in Uncle Eddy's chair. I'm sure Uncle Eddy won't appreciate that when he comes back in. He doesn't really like people to sit in his desk chair.

"I thought they told you someone was coming up here to check you out." Dad said sounding confused.

"They did I just didn't think it was going to be you. So how long are you going to be here?"

"Actually I've got a 8:30 flight to catch so I can be at a meeting tomorrow morning."

I looked at my watch. It was three o'clock now. "But you just got here."

"I've been here for the last couple of days Danny." He said laughing. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be nervous. And you thought I couldn't disguise myself."

I had to chuckle at that. Dad was kinda bad with disguises but even I didn't notice him. Must have been a good one after all.

"I also missed you. I haven't talked to you that much since I went on the road with the WWE. I don't know if I told you or not but Megan has come on the road too as a Production Assistant. She wanted to come along but I told her they needed her to help with Smackdown. She's really enjoying that job."

"That's great. No you didn't tell me that but that's great." It's good that Megan's in the business too. But I don't think David's getting into the business. Would be funny if he did.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm doing good. I'm glad that I decided to continue training. I don't think I would have wanted to so anything else."

"It's in the blood." Dad said with a chuckle. "I wanted to be a wrestler after I saw my first Stampede show. Nothing was going to stop me from being a wrestler. Not even the people who told me I was too small to make it in wrestling." He had a far away look in his eyes. "But then again who would have thought I'd be helping to run WWE? I certainly didn't."

"You are doing really good." Dad continued. "Ever given any thought of where you are going after your training is over?"

"I have but I'm not sure. Cam and Athena are in WCW but you, Owen, and Steve ruin WWE."

Dad nodded. "I guess this is a tough choice. I do understand why Cam and Athena went to WCW. So I would understand if you did the same."

"And I'd be following orders. You and mom told me never go to the WWE."

Dad gave me a look. "We meant never work for Vince, Stephanie, and Hunter." He paused. "I think Cam's trying to escape his father's past by going to work for WCW. Can't say I blame him."

I thought back to when Cam, Athena, and I resumed our training at OVW. Cam went up to Eddy and asked him if he had been pressured to send him up for the dark match. Uncle Eddy said no that he picked who he thought was most ready for it. I think Cam was relieved to hear that. I'm sure it was something that had been bugging him even before it came out that his father was a murderer.

Dad looked at me before saying anything. "Danny to be honest I'd say you have a couple of months of training left. You want to be as ready as possible before you make your big debut. That was WWE's problem before. They rushed the wrestlers and they weren't ready. Steve, Owen, and I don't want to make the same mistakes. At least we hope not to."

"I know." I said. I did know I wasn't ready. I'm glad my dad sees it too and that he's honest about it. I'd hate for him to lie about it and put me in when I wasn't ready though I don't think Uncle Eddy would have allowed him to. "I heard you fired "Chad."

"Well no one helps Vince and stays in the WWE." He said with a grin. "As soon as Eddy told us who he was, we decided right away to fire him. Some people will do anything to work for Vince." He said sadly.

It was quiet for a few moments. "I'm going to dinner with Eddy and Vicky you are invited of course before my flight." Dad said.

"Sounds great." I started to say.

"Get out of my chair Chris!" I couldn't help but laugh at Eddy's return to the office

Who would have thought when I started this quest to follow in my 'dead' father's footsteps I would be sitting in an office listening to him and Eddy argue over a desk chair? That's life for you. You set out to do something and it becomes more then you could have ever imagined.


End file.
